Harmful Crush
by Pile of Manga
Summary: A crush is something trivial. We've all had one; some of us have had crushes that are so strong they could be mistaken for love. What would happen if your crush toyed with you? What if Seto Kaiba was that crush?
1. A Little Obsession

Yes, another Seto-centric fiction. -grins- Here's a summary that could not fit into the small box thing:

_Kumiko only wanted Seto Kaiba to pay attention to her. Even the slightest look in her direction made her happy. It was the typical story of a girl with a high school crush--until the person of her affection decided to play with her. Is he really just meddling with her for his amusement, or is he trying to tell her something? And what of her best friend's friend, Jonouchi Katsuya, who has loved her since the first day they met? Can he help her escape the will of the posessor of her heart?_

I got this idea while I was on vacation; call it an outlet for some stuff that's been happening with me and my crush at school. Believe me, it's not this dramatic-- I'm just being ignored. Oh well. Inspiration should come from the heart, so here's heart. Eat it :p. Enjoy!

**Chapter 1 I Wish**

A cold glare.

That's all that I got that time. Well, at least he looked at me. My heart pounded tightly in my chest as I made my way home, clutching my schoolbag. He had looked at me. I would endure the fires of hell to the arctic ice that shoots from him just to look into his eyes forever. They're so blue and perfect… just like everything else. And he looked at me with them. Glared.

Seto Kaiba glared at me.

I sighed for what was probably the hundredth time as a light breeze blew by, and it made me slowly realize that someone was calling me. I stopped and glanced around, and I heard my name again. I still didn't see anyone. I started walking again, but stopped—there was my name again. Oh, whoever it was must have been behind me.

"Kumiko-chan!"

I raised my hand and waved, standing to face the speaker as he lazily walked to catch up with me. It was Shinobu Hayashi, pretty much my only friend here in Domino. He's about a head taller than me, light brown hair and green eyes, 18 years old. He'll be graduating this year. Lots of girls like him, which means I sometimes get the butt of their jokes because they think we're dating. We've been friends since before I can remember, and he's been with me through a lot of stuff, including my current obsession with Seto. Nothing really gets to him unless it has something to do with anything he cares about, so he's a pretty laid back guy. When he's not spending time with me, he usually hangs out at parties and with his gang of friends; every time he goes out he comes back with amusing stories of the girls and guys who try to hook up with him.

I, on the other hand, am pretty plain. I'm not well-known—well, at least not known by my name. Most people refer to me as "the smart chick with the glasses" or something along those lines, but that's about the only mention I get before they go on to talk about their problems with their boyfriends or girlfriends or how stuff is so expensive. I'm about 5'5, brown hair, brown eyes with glasses, 16 years old. Typical teenager. I'm pretty quiet, and I'm perfectly fine with only having Shinobu as my friend. I suppose the only time I crave attention is when I pass Seto in the hallway.

"Care to walk a little slower?" I asked sarcastically as Shinobu ambled up with his hands in his pockets.

"If you say so." Grinning even wider than he already was, he contorted his face slightly and let out a loud, obnoxious groan as he put on his slow-mo trick.

I smiled and started to whistle, turning to walk away from him, but he latched onto my arm and pulled me back, keeping his voice low and deep. "Noooooooooooooo……!" He was really starting to bug me with the whole instant replay imitation, so I lightly smacked the side of his head to make him let me go.

"Yow! Sheesh, Kumiko-chan, you're so mean to me!" he whined, feigning pain.

"No I'm not," I replied as we started to walk again. "Shinobu, he looked at me today."

"How'd you do it this time?" he asked, knowing quite well who "he" was.

"Same as yesterday… I bumped into him," I said, smiling at the memory of it. "He looked like he was going to blow up at me or something." I remembered in perfect detail how his broad shoulders had swiveled so that he could pierce me with those eyes.

"Honestly, you really should try talking to him sometime."

"What would we talk about?"

"Quiet stuff. I don't know," he said, shrugging. "Whatever smart, introverted dorks talk about."

I paused for a second. "I can't talk to him."

Shinobu made a noise of frustration at me. "I don't even know why I try anymore. You'll just be stuck with watching him from afar for the rest of the year."

"What's wrong with that?"

Ignoring my comment, he broke into song. "From afar, I watch you walk—from afar, I watch you dance—from afar! I watch you undress—"

"Shush!" He was distracting me a lot from trying to remember the moment that day; I turned down my street without another word to him.

"From afar! I see you go to your house!" he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Buzz off!" As annoying as he was right then, I laughed and waved back before going the rest of the way to my home. It's pretty plain as well, exactly the same as the neighbors' houses in the complex. White and bland with a green roof and shutters, a little garden out in front, the grass neatly trimmed and green like it has to be. I live with my mom and dad, no brothers or sisters; I barely get any allowance. Not that I want to buy anything, really, it's just the logistics that annoy me.

Mom and Dad weren't home yet, so I went upstairs to my room and tossed my backpack onto the floor, turning on my computer. It buzzed at me rather loudly, as it wasn't exactly the most up to date computer. If you looked at how often computers were updated then mine would probably be considered an antique or something. It worked all right; not much of the memory was taken up, seeing as how I only used it for writing in my journal and talking online—Shinobu had a habit of asking me to use my computer to hide his porn since his is nearly stuffed full of it.

I sat down and started to write down whatever I could remember about Seto that day; in math class he had gotten up to sharpen his pencil and some guy in the second row tried flicking a paper airplane at him. He had turned around and caught it, crumpled it in his hand and dropped it to the floor, then returning to his seat like nothing had happened.

Some people would probably consider me a stalker because of how much I write about him, but I'm too timid to be anything even close to that. I just have a big crush on him. It'd be corny to say I'm in love with him, so I keep it at the crush level to avoid embarrassment in front of Shinobu.

I get excited when he looks at me, even if he's looking past me at something in the distance; it makes me happy to know that he at least knows I exist. I've never spoken to him, even when we've been placed in groups together; all we did then was exchange papers with an unspoken understanding of what needed to be done. A few times he told me what I was doing wrong, but I never responded, only stopped to correct whatever it was.

Maybe someday I can get the courage to talk to him. Maybe someday he'll really notice me and talk to me. I wish he would talk to me so that I don't feel pressured or nervous for starting any conversation. For now, I'll settle with the little glances and glares I get.

I really need to stop and get a life, but watching Seto is my life for now. I hope…

I hope someday he'll watch me.


	2. Passing Notes

Next chapter done! Mer. This story seems to be very popular so far--well, at least more popular than I thought it'd be… oh well! I'm really getting into it, working out the little crooks and nannies in the plot I have laid out. Now, to respond to the wonderful reviews you all gave!

**Kikoken-** Yes, this might just be one of those fics. Or it might not. But could it? Yes. Or maybe not. Har :p you'll have to read to find out!

**SukiLovesAnime14- **I'm glad you like it so far -smile- I hope I'll be able to keep your attention.

**twilight eyes 8120-** -bows- Thanks so much for the compliment. I must say, the only reason her thoughts are, well, realistic, is because I've been in that position many times -sheepish grin- so if you could see what goes on in my head during school when I notice my crush, it'd be redundant of what you see here -.-;

**ShibiChicken-** Jon, Jon, Jon… -shakes head- You really shouldn't make rash assumptions like that. I assure you, everything is under control, and this will not be the corniest fic ever written :). If you must know why I have so much feeling in this story, read the response to twilight eyes. As to the "Who ruined you?" question, his name is Ethan Hart, if you must know -grins- he's just about as out of reach as Seto is to Kumiko right now. Hence my inspiration :). Oh, and chapter 3 for Hacker's World is up and has been for a while, so go read, you silly neenerhead.

**Minor Arcana-** Of course this will have a snazzy bit of darkness wound into the plot; none of my stories thus far have been entirely happy. This one will definitely have some complicated stuff being thrown around, so watch out! As soon as I get a bit more time, I shall read your story and review it:) I can't wait.

**tyrantyoshi-** -blushes- Short, yet so fulfilling. Thanks much; compliments like that make me so happy.

**AllisonWalker-** Ya know what's really really weird? The description of your crush sounds almost exactly like mine, except mine has Paul Newman blue eyes (if you haven't heard that expression before, it means they're… very very blue and pretty :p). Though, I try not to stare too much at him –grin- I'm such a wuss sometimes –smacks self-. I hope your luck improves with him in the future.

Whew! I hope that wasn't too long for responses, but I felt like writing a little more to take up space for this chapter. Onwards! Again, going off of personal feelings, what Kumiko does and thinks is exactly what I would do and think in the exact situation. There's reality reading for ya. Hope you all like this chapter! (oh, and keep an eye out for a picture of Kumiko and Shinobu; soon there shall be a link from my profile page to the drawing.)

**Chapter 2**

The next few days went by without much happening. I still watched Seto write in class and snap at people, but I never really got the chance to try to make him notice me. I was too busy trying to focus on some tests coming up, and for some reason the girls in my class decided that this week was the one to really make fun of me.

My glasses were one of the main attention points they decided to zoom in on, that and the fact that Shinobu was only "going out with me" because he pitied me. I'll admit, Shinobu is a really nice guy, but he would never date someone for that reason. The fact that they were dead wrong about half the stuff they said nearly made me scoff at them, but I kept my mouth shut and my head down like I usually do.

I used to be so hurt by what they said that I would come home crying, but after a year or so I got used to it and just sort of sat and absorbed it. Sometimes if I was focused enough on what I was doing I could almost block them out entirely. Occasionally they'd steal something of mine to make me pay attention, but I've outgrown trying to take whatever it is back; I just sit and wait until they get bored enough with it and angrily give it back, accompanied with a nasty comment about how it's a piece of crap anyway.

I really hate people sometimes.

One day that week, though, I just about forgave them for all their taunting. They had found a new thing to make fun of—how intelligent I am. I was rather surprised at how many drugs they named off that were mind stimulants; they had been going at it for a while, and right when I was about to try to ask them to leave me alone… it happened.

"Will you morons find something else to do?"

I think all of us must have had the same expressions on our faces as we looked at the speaker. It was Seto. He was glaring at the girls instead of me this time. "You're all just making yourselves look like idiots every time you do this. It's gotten really old, so knock it off." He turned back to his work, leaving me shocked. I could have cared less about the fact that they left with a few nasty words about how Shinobu's gonna break up with me because I'm cheating on him with Seto.

He made the bullies leave me alone.

I really wanted to say "thank you" to him. I sat around for the rest of the period, not working on anything but thinking about how I was going to do it. Would I walk up to his desk and say it was he was packing up his things? What if he didn't hear me? Maybe I could get his attention first—no, that'd be like I was being too formal. It's no big deal, right? It's not like he was doing it for me or anything; they were just annoying him, and I know how serious he gets when he's working.

But, I still should say "thank you", I mean…it'll be a way to get his attention again. If I stand in front of his desk and say it, how should I stand? Should I even look at him? Should I wait around to see if I hear a "you're welcome" or should I just say it and leave? I was thinking too much, I decided. I should just grit my teeth and do it. Simple as that.

No, that was more complicated than just thinking about it.

The bell rang and scared me half to death; I stared at my hands for a second before I packed up my things, making a split-second decision. Tucking my pen away in my pencil bag, I put my backpack on and straightened my shirt. As I walked by his desk I held out my hand slightly, dropping a small piece of paper without looking anywhere near him. I hoped to whatever higher being that it landed on his desk and then left the class.

I practically ran to lunch; the adrenaline levels in me were definitely still hyped up even as I took out my lunch bag. I saw that Shinobu was with some of his friends, so I went to sit by myself on a bench. I started into my sandwich, relishing the fact that my hand had come within a foot of him. I got lost in the happy feeling, and that's when the nervousness set in.

What if he didn't get the note? Even if he somehow managed to notice it, I didn't put my name on it at all, so he might not know who it's from. No, he's smart, so he'll figure it out sooner or later. When he does, what'll he think? He might consider it, maybe he'll decide to defend me more often because the note made him feel appreciated.

I nearly smacked myself. Who the heck was I kidding? He'd probably look at it and then just throw it away; after all, what do I matter? Now he'll probably think I'm some sort of loser who needs to be led by the hand to keep from bursting to tears. He'll think I'm a wimp. Or—

I stopped eating. Maybe it'll make him start to think about me. Maybe… he might start noticing how much I look at him; it'll make him realize that I like him! Is that good or bad? I suppose it's good because… now that he knows… he knows, and I don't have to tell him, therefore it's up to him whether he wants to do something about it, so the pressure's off me. It could be bad, though; what if he tells someone and the whole school finds out? The mean girls in class will make fun of me even more!

I was so lost in my thoughts and internal ranting that I didn't realize that someone was standing right next to me. It was only when the glint of their silver briefcase reached my eyes that my mind halted; I was sure that as I swallowed the last bite of food, it would have a long way to go because my stomach kindly decided to splat onto the concrete below my feet.


	3. Inadvertent Confession

Huzzah! The next chapter is done, and it's a bit longer than the others have been thus far; I really like this one . To the reviews!

**SukiLovesAnime14- **-grins- I have you in my clutches now. Enjoy the next chapter!

**Samurai Angel- **Wow, more and more people are finding this believable –gawks- I really thought I was one of the few people who thought like this around my crush. I'm happy you've started reading!

**Sakura Trees- **I shall! Read on, man!

**twilight eyes 8120- **More proof! Alriiiiiight –punches the air- I am normal! I'm glad this is reaching so many people. You'll find out what the note said, and you think you hate the mean girls now—whoa boy, you're in for a lot more later on in the story –grins evilly-.

**SladesDaughter- **Steph, Kumiko does not mean braid. Good guess, though! Har har; sorry I haven't been emailing you; I've gotten out of the habit recently –smacks self- I'll get around to it. I hope you like the next chapter!

**kikoken- **Naah, she didn't throw up –shrugs- 'twas a weird way of phrasing it, I know. Enjoy reading!

**AllisonWalker- **-patpat- There, there. Boys are butt heads, and they're mean. And confusing. And guess what? They think the same thing about us, and say we're harder to understand. But they're wrong –smirks-.

**Sorceress Vanessa- **Another reader! –glomps- welcome! And like I said to kikoken, she didn't throw up; I just meant that to express how much her stomach "plummeted" when she realized who it was.

**Shibichicken- **you'll just have to read to find out, Jon. When have I ever told you how my stories are going to turn out? Never. And I'll be sure to email you the next time you don't review Hacker's World; I didn't know you were that into it –smiles- and congrats on your girlfriend! I'm happy for ya –wink-.

**Arabella Silverbell- **Hee hee, the psychicness… -wiggles fingers- Yet another can easily put herself into Kumiko's shoes. Muah! Enjoy!

Whew! I am on Winter Break! Woot! I'll be writing hopefully a lot more. Now I should go to bed. It's 1:30 in the morning. Oh! One more thing; the picture of Kumiko and Shinobu is posted on my profile page, so those of you who want to see what they look like.... yeah, go there.

**Chapter 3**

I tried to calmly look up, but it felt like it took forever because he's so tall, and I was sitting down. When I did finally meet his eyes, I didn't know what to think. He was just looking down at me. I didn't know how long he'd been there, as I tend to lose track of time when I have a lot of things going through my head at once, but I was hoping it wasn't too long; I didn't want to seem like a slow, dim-witted girl eating her pitiful lunch by herself.

"You wrote this," he said, holding out the little slip of paper. I'm sure it was a sort of question, but he said it like he knew, and wanted an explanation rather than a meek yes or no.

"Yeah." Oh God, that sounded so stupid. I elaborated, making an attempt at shrugging my shoulders. "They were—annoying me, too." No need to tell him the true sappy reason for the note. "…and you made them go away, and…" Why was I bumbling like an idiot? Why did I suddenly forget how to speak like a civilized human being?

"You never seemed to care when they were doing that before."

"I try my best to ignore them." Wow, that actually came out pretty well—wait. What?

"Next time, don't ignore them. It was twice as annoying telling them off for you." With that, he left.

I vaguely nodded my head in the general direction of his retreating form, still thinking about what he had just said. _You never seemed to care when they were doing that before. _He noticed something about me? No, he probably just figured that out because… oh heck, I'll take it as the best-case scenario. He noticed me.

My heart pounded at the very thought, even though I knew it was a far-fetched assumption. He had noticed something about me, like I've always wanted him to. Does this mean that I can talk to him? No, of course not. I could try, though. He talked to me, so it was only fair.

Just then Shinobu came bounding up out of nowhere. "Kumiko! Did I just see you talking to Kaiba?" he nearly yelled.

I grabbed his wrist and yanked him down to my level, shushing him. "Yeah, that was Seto," I murmured.

"How'd you do it this time?" he asked. I'd heard that question a hundred times before, but this time was different. He and I had actually spoken to each other. I gave him a long, detailed explanation that took a long time considering that almost nothing had happened.

"What did you write on the note?" he asked when I was done.

"Just… thank you."

He blinked. "That's it?"

Boy, did my heart jump into my throat. "What do you mean, 'that's it'?" I asked apprehensively.

"Well, not in a bad way—I mean—" He was obviously trying to catch himself, as he knew how fast my confidence could be shattered, but he knew it was already too late. "Alright, I didn't mean that it was dumb or anything, I just thought you could have maybe written something like 'you're hot'; you know, something to really make him ponder why you gave him the note," he finished, grinning.

I still felt shocked for some reason. What he had said really made me freak out. Why did I write that stupid note? Oh my God, what did I just do? Oh my god, oh my God, oh my God—

"Kumi-chan?" I was jerked back into reality when I blinked and saw that Shinobu was right in front of my face, peering intently at me. "What's wrong?"

"I—I have to go," I rushed. I had to go and tell Seto to forget about the note—no, even better, I had to tell him that it was a joke or something, tell him something to make him think that it really didn't matter that much to me.

"Where?" His hand came out of nowhere and grabbed my arm; somehow I had stood up and started to walk without even realizing it.

"Class." I really didn't have time for him holding me like that, so I tried to get away from him, but he pulled me back and looked me dead on.

"Kumiko," he said sternly. "You have nothing to worry about; you're freaking out over something really small. Think about it; if he had thought it was dumb or something he wouldn't have talked to you about it, would he?"

"I—I—well… he did have the note when he came to talk to me…" I murmured. A small beacon of hope! No, I must crush it with another pessimistic view to make him let me go talk to Seto. "But that doesn't mean he didn't throw it away when he left! Come on, Shinobu!"

He finally let me go, and said something so soft I barely heard it as I rushed off to find Seto. "You're obsession with him is really making you more stressed than you need to be, Kumiko."

I rushed down the halls, knowing exactly where he had gone; I knew that he sat in the classroom to eat his lunch because all the hubbub of the lunch area annoyed him. Right as I reached the door, I had my hand reaching out to it before I started to think again.

Wait, what am I doing? I need to tell him not to take the note too seriously. How? Won't that make it more obvious that I care what he thinks about me? What if he makes fun of me? Does my hair look ok? What if he's not even in there and I'm sitting here panicking about nothing?

Do I even need to talk to him? Yes, I sternly told myself. I do. That's all there is to it. But I can't! I can't! Ok, just take a deep breath and do it; it'll all be over before you know it.

My hand made it the rest of the way to the doorknob and got a hold on it. Wait, wait! I can't do it! Go back! No, come on, don't be such a chicken! The doorknob was turned. NO! I'm not ready yet! The door swung open.

No, no, no! Oh God, now I have no choice! Ok, just walk in like you do this every day…

I took in a deep breath and walked inside, knowing very well that Seto was the only one in there, and his eyes were on me because of how jerkily the door had been wrenched open. I did my best to look calm and composed again, and I sat down in a desk across the row from him. He looked at me, puzzled, the chopsticks he was using still partially in his mouth. I sort of looked at my hands, knowing that it was all I could do to keep myself from running from the place like there was no tomorrow. That's when I saw that he had a piece of paper in his hand—_my_ piece of paper.

My mind went blank.

I think my mouth opened slightly as I stared at his hand and thought about how untidy my writing looked all of a sudden. "What's wrong with _you_?" he demanded, still partially chewing on his last bite.

"Uhm—" I almost winced. Oh man, I should have never come here, now look, I'm embarrassing myself beyond reason. It wasn't that big of a deal, anyway! I am so dumb sometimes! I think he noticed what I was looking at, because his next phrase hit me quite hard.

"Do you want this back so that you can write something else on it to me?" he sneered, lightly holding it out with two fingers and taking a sip of his drink, keeping his eye trained on me the whole time.

"No," I said hurriedly, grabbing the note from him and crumpling it up—finally, I did something. "Erm… I just wanted to…to let you know that…" It suddenly struck me that I had no idea how the heck I was going to tell him. Why didn't I think of anything on the way over?

"Take your time," he said coolly, turning back to his meal and starting to eat again, as if I had suddenly become invisible. God, that was one thing I was hoping wouldn't happen. He really thinks I'm stupid and slow now. I should just leave—wait, why am I thinking about that? Shouldn't I be trying to come up with something to tell him?

"Well, that is to say," I began. "I just didn't want you to think that…" Hey, maybe if I say something that he would say in my place… "…that I actually meant this or anything." Oh yeah, I got it.

"Didn't look that way when we were talking earlier." He still wasn't looking at me, moving to start lightly scraping the sides of his bowl to get the last of the rice.

"Yeah, well that's because I was –" No, it was too hard. I didn't want to act like him to him anymore. "It just doesn't mean that I need your help or anything, but I did appreciate what you did, you know?" You know. I guess that meant that I was getting a little more comfortable.

"What do you care how I took it?" His eyes turned to me right then. It was like a Medusa stare; I froze.

What the heck was I supposed to say to that? He gave me close to no time to think about it—well, maybe he did, but it seemed like a _really_ short time to me. Snickering, he closed his eyes as he took a short sip from his cup. "I get it now. You like me."

How the hell did he do that? Oh God! "I—I do _not_!" I nearly yelled. Oh man, I could feel the heat rushing to my face.

Starting to laugh a bit, he fully shifted in his seat to face me. "You're a rotten liar, you know that? I could even tell when you were trying to tell me that thing didn't matter," he said, gesturing to my hand—yet more embarrassment, my hand was still clamped around it.

And what was I supposed to say to that? I must have looked like such an idiot, just sitting there, beet red, half-grimacing. So I decided to do something about it.

I grabbed my bag and ran out.


	4. Comfort and Food

Woot! Merry Christmas everyone! I have some time before my mom's guests come here to fillher little apartment to its brink, so I'll respond to the wonderful reviews –grins-

**AllisonWalker-** -claps- Yay for Michael! Guys who treat you well when you act like yourself are the best; nice decision :).

**twilight eyes 8120- **Yay for you, too! It was pretty much the same way with me and my crush this year. He wasn't interested in dating, but that doesn't mean I couldn't still watch him from afar! I'm starting to fall for one of my friends and he might like me in that way as well, so good luck to me and all other girls; let's hope your philosophy is correct! Thanks for the review!

**Jade Wyvern- **Hey, hey, you can too write like me! Do ya think I was lying in all my reviews of your story? You can write! Well –blushes- anywhoodleedoodles, I'm glad you like my story so far; take your time!

**ShibiChicken- **… wow. That's a lot to take in all at once 0.0; I'll answer the part about _this_ story—yeah, this OC is definitely closer to my personality than most of my stories, even though Kinou was Edie before I changed it to avoid embarrassment in front of my brother. Though, like I said in the head note of the first chapter, this story is exaggerated; nothing like this has happened between me and my infatuation, especially not the rest of the story. Considering this is an outlet for my frustration over him, yeah, it's gonna be pretty similar to how I'd react. –whew- Thanks for thinking so much in that review 'twas amusing.

**SladesDaughter- **Yes, your new chapters are awesome –smiles- and thanks for the little Christmas email; I forwarded it to everyone in my address book. I'll write you back! I promise!! As soon as I get out of this stupid anti-response email thing! –punches hand- That's it; I'm emailing you tonight. I'll force myself to!

**Kikoken- **Indeed, especially admitting one to Seto Kaiba :) thanks for reviewing!

**Skitty 2004- **Yay! Another reader! I _love_ your penname by the way. I'm happy you can go along with this!

**Hikari, Lady of Light- **Welcome frickin back! Don't worry about not watching my stories; life can be busy sometimes, and even when it's not, you don't think of doing stuff happens to me all the time. I'm glad you're reading! And, if you MUST know… I'm not sure if a sequel to Kiseki is up on my agenda, but you're, like, the 15th person to ask me if there will be one, so I may start one because of the demand –shrugs- I'm not sure yet, so assume it's no for now .

**Samurai Angel- **I shall have a great day—er—well now it's Christmas night! Thanks for reviewing and reading!

Whew! Now I must post this so that my little brother will stop hovering around me and making weird noises… enjoy chapter 4!

**Chapter 4**

Since I was at school, I really didn't know where to go after I made it out of the classroom, so I quickly went down the hall a few doors and went inside, throwing myself against the door after I shut it. Even though I had only run 30 feet at the most, it took me a really long time to catch my breath. I slid to the floor, my bag making a dull thud next to me as I buried my face in my hands.

Oh God, he figured out that I like him. What do I do now? What'll he think about it? Will he do anything? Maybe he'll forget about it—no, that won't happen. It could, I suppose; maybe it happens so often that he's used to it, or maybe he thinks that crushes are so dumb that they're not worth remembering. I really hope so.

Then again… he really does know now. And I didn't have to tell him directly, he just assumed from the way I was acting. It would have been really awkward if I had just come up to him and told him, so maybe it was better that he found out through the note? I didn't know what to think. All I knew was that I felt really weird knowing that he had found out how I felt.

A thought struck me—he doesn't know how much I like him. He thinks it's just a crush, when really it's much more than that… I think. Maybe it's just a big crush; I'm still not entirely sure yet. The point is, if he ever knew how much time I spent thinking and worrying about him… I don't even want to think about it. A knock on the door made me jump so much that I nearly toppled over, but I composed myself and got up, dusting off my skirt before turning to the entryway.

Wait, what if it's Seto coming to talk to me or make fun of me? Does he even know I'm in here? I shouldn't hesitate if it is—no wait, if it's him I shouldn't give him the opportunity to see me so soon after what just happened; maybe he's knocked on all the other doors and waited for a response and not heard any, so if I keep perfectly still and quiet—

"Kumi-chan?"

I nearly threw the door open to see Shinobu standing there with his hand still slightly out; he took a slight step back in surprise. "Kumi-chan, what happened?" Concern was etched into the question, making me realize that I was crying a little bit. I guess it had been such a shock that I didn't even notice how much it had affected me. Shinobu came in and shut the door, immediately wrapping his arms around me without me giving an explanation.

Something about his hugs always gets to me, but they're so comforting that I'd feel calm even if I were about to be eaten alive by a pack of cannibals. I settled into him, feeling a few tears fall and hastily pressing my cheek into his shoulder to dab them off.

We stood there for a while, I really don't know how long it was, and he finally let me go, his hands on my shoulders. "You ok?" he asked.

I nodded, smiling. "He knows now," I said softly, laughing.

"Did you finally admit it to him or what?" I still don't know how the heck he does it, but when he wants to, he can make anything sound gentle.

"Not really." I gave him another story, and repeating it to him made me really start to worry some more; recalling what I had said—or attempted to say—made me wonder what Seto was thinking about me right now, because from my point of view, I sounded really annoying. I started to get over it a little, though, and I felt a little cheery as I saw Shinobu smile.

"So he figured it out then."

I nodded. "And I don't know what to do now."

"Well for starters, I really don't think you should have run out," he said, knowing that it was alright to crack a joke right then.

"I know that. Can't change it." I shrugged, feeling a slight pang in my stomach as I did so. Yeah, I could accept that I couldn't change it, but I sincerely wished that I hadn't done it in the first place.

He gave a slight laugh and put his arm around my shoulders, opening up the classroom door. "How about we go out for ice cream after school today? I don't have any plans, so afterwards we can go to your place," he said in a mockingly seductive tone, winking.

I giggled and lightly smacked him; I was feeling better. "You not getting any unless you buy the sweets," I joked back.

Seto knows about how I feel, so now it's up to him if he wants to do anything about it. He might look at me more; maybe I won't have to run into him to get his attention. I wonder how he looks when he smiles? I would have smiled at the thought had I not seen what was in front of us as we stepped out.

The girls from my class were staring at us with shocked expressions as Shinobu led me away, and it took me a moment to consider why. As he and I went down the hallway, I could hear them whispering fervently between each other, and I chanced a look back at them. The main one was giving me the dirtiest look I had ever seen; I swear it could have been painted onto a doll and put into a horror movie. And then it hit me—they just saw Shinobu and me come out of an empty classroom, I was probably still flushed, and we were joking about sleeping together.

I felt a different kind of twinge in my stomach as I saw her narrow her eyes at me, and when I looked back at her, she mouthed "damn slut" before Shinobu turned down the next hallway and hid them from view.

* * *

I was able to somewhat forget about the look after school, as Shinobu knew exactly where the best ice cream place was in the whole town, and the sweet cold treat made me feel warm inside. We talked some more about what I was going to do next, and that led to another recounting of what happened. Halfway through the introduction, he stopped me.

"Wait, say that again."

"What, the fact that he looked really good with the chopsticks?"

"No, after that." He had put down his ice cream bowl to divert his attention wholly to me—well, that may have been because he had already finished it.

"When I stopped thinking?" I couldn't figure out what he was getting at.

"Yeah. You said you stopped thinking because he had your note in his hand."

I didn't say anything, so he said it again to make sure it had filtered through my head. "He was looking at your note, Kumiko."

I had heard him the first time, but the repeat was phrased such that I was stunned. "…He…he had the note out…" What did that mean? Does he like me back? Was he just looking at it so that he could laugh some more? Maybe he needed a scrap of paper for something and mine just happened to be the right size—

"I wonder what he was thinking?" Shinobu wondered aloud, picking up his spoon and reaching across the table to get a large swipe of my ice cream.

"Shinobu."

"Hm—ah!" He pinched the bridge of his nose, dropping the spoon with a clatter. "Man, what a brain freeze! Remind me not to shovel in other people's cold food." He shut his eyes and slightly hunched over.

"Hey, Shinobu."

"Eah?"

"Don't eat my ice cream too fast." He laughed, and stayed still for a little while, still grimacing slightly. I took the opportunity to ask the first question I had, idly twirling my spoon in the ice cream. "Shinobu-kun… you're a guy—"

"Well duh."

I pulled my bowl away from his retrieved spoon and began eating it, much to his disappointment. "Why would _you_ be looking at the note?"

He stopped his attempts at getting to my food to frown at me. "I dunno… I'd probably be looking at it to figure out if it meant anything else. That's probably why he figured out that you liked him so fast."

"Well." I shrugged. "I wasn't exactly doing a very good job at hiding it, either."

"Meh." He shrugged back, chewing on his spoon.

"Don't you think… there might be a possibility that…?" I knew it was out of the question, but coming from someone who has girls lusting after him all the time, I thought he could at least give me an honest opinion.

"Who knows?"

I sighed and pushed my ice cream towards him, smirking.

Shinobu eagerly swiped it up and took a bite, a smaller one than before. "Yeah, I suppose he could be thinking about how weird it was that you liked him, 'cause I definitely think he might like you back in a way. Don't take my word for it, though. Ask him yourself."

"I couldn't."

"Sure you could; look at yourself! Even if he doesn't like you now, a puppy face with a little Lolita effect will win him over in a second." He grinned and winked at me.

"You have the weirdest way of complimenting people, you know that?"

"It works, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess." I smiled and settled back into the booth, sighing. He was looking at the note. He must have been thinking about me. Does that mean…?

It could. Just maybe.

…Seto Kaiba might like me back.


	5. Smartening Up

Yay! Happy New Year! –confetti- ok, onwards with responses!

**Samurai Angel- **And to you as well! –bows- I suppose you might just have to keep reading to find out. –grins-

**ShibiChicken- **Erm… You sounded really sad in that review –frowns- Hope your Christmas got better! –glomps and hands you a Kiseki plushie-

**twilight eyes 8120- **As much as I pride myself on not telling anyone any hints about how the story is going to turn out, I must defer from my resignation. –takes in a breath- There's absolutely no romance between Kumiko and Shinobu.: ) It certainly would seem that way, but neither of them have feelings of that sort. Good guess, though!

**AllisonWalker- **Aww, you're so mean. Poor Kumiko would have a breakdown if she read that simple, heart-breaking phrase. –wags a finger- For shame! Happy Holidays to you as well : )

**PrincessChaos- **0.0 you smacked Seto in your review! How dare you!! –ahem- be sure that it doesn't happen again. I'm happy you like this fic: )I hope I keep your attention!

**Hikari, Lady of Light- **Ah! Noo! Not the Oreos!! Anything but the Or-- -goes into zombie mode- _must… update… update… SOOOOON! ­_–gets whacked by a random frying pot- Whoa, what was that? –shakes head- Right. Your review. I'm glad you're confused! Mwahaha. And as I said earlier, Shinobu and Kumiko have absolutely no romantic feelings towards each other. They're the best of friends and they love being just that. By the power of Ramen, you must review this chapter! As soon as you read it!!

**SukiLovesAnime14- **Yes! I will keep going and going and going and going and going and going and…………………… -pauses- GOING!!

**Skitty 2004- **Aw, how kawaii! –pinches your cheek- You should have gone even if you couldn't dance! He could have taught you a few moves –winks- ah well. Some opportunities just zoom by like a fly on Mountain Dew. And –laughs nervously- I wouldn't follow this story's advice on what to do about your crush, as it will be taking a sharp turn towards creepy weirdness. I'm flattered all the same that you thought of the possibility, though : ).

**Kikoken- **Oh yeah. Kumiko's going to be doing just that for pretty much the whole story –grins- it shall be quite confusing, I assure you. Here's your update!

Alright! Onwards with chapter 5! There is a somewhat important footnote at the bottom, so I suggest you read it. There's an asterisk(well, since ff. net is SO opposed to asterisks, it shall be a pound sign -rolls eyes-)about halfway through the chapter that shows where its relevance lies, so that you hopefully won't be thinking "what the hat does this have to do with anything?" Anywhoodleedoodles, I had fun writing this chapter, and I hope you all will like it as well!

**Chapter 5**

The next day was definitely awkward—well, for me at least—especially since Seto and I sit kinda near each other. I could hardly look at him, and I'm sure the teacher thought I was sick or something because I had a sort of glazed look. I couldn't get my mind off what Shinobu and I had talked about yesterday, which was definitely thinking more about Seto than I usually did.

No, he couldn't possibly like me back. I've never seen him with a girl, let alone even looking at one, so how could he—no, no, don't think about that. He couldn't be… well, I suppose… no! He can't! I would have smacked myself had I not been in the middle of class. Seto's _not_ gay.

The teacher was kinda stressed that day, and I actually switched from thinking about what was troubling me to what was troubling her. Apparently the previous test scores were extremely bad, and since two people scored very high, she decided not to curve it. Obviously everyone in the class knew who the two people were, so Seto and I got quite a few dirty looks. She decided that the mode of action would be for everyone to get into study groups that would meet on a weekly basis outside of school.

I stayed alone, deciding to work on that week's homework as everyone else got into their groups of friends, grumbling about how stupid the idea was. It took me a second before I noticed that the mean girls had mobilized near the desk directly in front of mine, and they were looking at me with really creepy smiles.

"Hey, Ikari, wanna be in our group?" one of them asked.

I really didn't like how they were looking at me at all. It was like if I refused, they'd go crazy and stab me with their lipstick or something. "Uh, I'm… I'm just… uh…" How the heck was I supposed to decline without getting attacked?

"C'mon; we could use somebody who's smart," another said. "We'd _really_ love it if you joined up with us, really." God, did she drag the last sentence out.

I knew that if I joined their group they'd make me do all the work, or, going off of what they looked like as I tried to mumble out that I didn't want to, they might be trying to force me to be around so that they can make fun of me some more. "I-I really… would like to just—"

"Ikari, we're doing you a _favor_, asking you to study with us and all," cooed the main one, sounding really vicious even though she was admiring her nails. "We could help you with all sorts of things once you start hanging around us more—"

"She _won't_ be in your study group."

I jumped and looked up to see Seto standing right behind them. They turned around as well. "What was that?" There was no attempt to hide the contempt in the question.

"I said she won't be in your study group." He walked around them and pulled a desk next to mine, sitting down. "She's already in one."

He whipped out a silver mechanical pencil and began working on homework as well while the girls tsked and turned around with a huff. My eyes were frozen on my paper, and I swear the heat from my face could have lit up Tokyo.

…oh…my…God. Oh my God. Oh my God. I couldn't move. He wasn't even looking at me, and I couldn't move. What just happened? Oh my God. Why did he just come over like that and—wait! He made them leave me alone again! What does that mean? Why would he do it again? And now I'm in his study group—wait, maybe he was just doing that for show; the teacher hasn't come around with a sign up sheet yet so maybe—ah! His elbow just touched mine! Argh!

I must have stiffened up or shivered or something, because he paused in his writing to slightly turn his head toward me. I still didn't move, but I must have blushed a lot more, if that was even possible. "Kumiko, you look like you're going to faint. Calm down," he ordered. I finally looked at him out of surprise.

Why was he being so informal(#)? Shinobu hardly ever calls me by just my first name as it is! I needed to get out of there. "I—I feel feverish all of a sudden," I sputtered out. "I think I'll—I'll—" I swallowed and stood up a little clumsily, trying to compose myself. "I'm going to get a drink of water." Hey, a real sentence. I hurriedly walked out, heading towards the bathroom, half-panicking all the way.

When I got in there, I went to one of the sinks and splashed some cold water on my face. My hands on the sides of the bowl, I stood hunched over it, trying to breathe normally. As I looked up at myself in the mirror, I was weirded out. I looked like someone had died. What was the matter with me?

Now that I wasn't next to him, I could think logically. He had made the mean girls leave me alone by deciding to be in my group. Ok. Then he sat next to me and didn't even talk to me except to tell me that I looked like I was about to pass out. Did he just say that to make fun of me, or did he actually care? Probably not the latter, but maybe he was trying to save me from embarrassment or something. I really wonder, though.

He called me Kumiko right off the bat, so I wasn't sure whether it was because he looks down on me, or… I didn't know. Shinobu calls me Kumiko-chan, and he's like a brother to me. It was too much to take in all at once. I decided to focus on the situation at hand.

Alright, so he sat down next to me. He was just working on his homework like I was, so that means that we're not really a study group, seeing as how we're both the top students in the class. Then I got to thinking—he's two years older than me, and I'm absolutely sure that he's smarter than I am, so why are we in the same math class?

I pondered that for a little while, then deciding it'd be best to go back to class, since the teacher would probably want an explanation as to why I suddenly dashed out of her room without a reason. I walked out of the restroom, taking off my glasses to wipe them on my shirt; I ended up stopping after a few steps because I'm completely blind without them on. I heard someone coming down the hallway and I paused when I heard them stop a few feet from me. I looked up at whoever it was, which didn't do much; I could only tell that it was a boy.

I slipped my glasses back on and squeaked slightly when I saw Katsuya Jonouchi there. I hadn't seen him in the longest time, but he used to bully me around when we were in grade school, and I had to admit with some vehemence that I still feared him in a way. I took a step back.

"Ikari-chan, what's wrong?"

I nearly flinched when he spoke, but it was weird—he didn't sound nearly as threatening as he did when we were little. I was more surprised at the fact that he went to the same school as me.

"I—I have to go back to class," I rushed out, turning away to walk quickly down the hallway. I turned a corner and hid behind it, waiting for the sound of his footsteps, but I didn't hear any. After a second, though, I heard him mutter something.

"Nice to see you again."

I heard him going the other way down the hallway, so I peeked around the corner. He looked almost exactly the same as he did six years ago, same messy blonde hair, same brown eyes… he still walked with a slight hunch in his back. I wondered vaguely if he had some sort of disease that made him that way, or if he just naturally walked like that, but I still didn't like it.

I should have smacked him right there, I thought. Man, would that have been the coolest thing to do. Pay him back for all the hazing he put me through when we were kids. Maybe I could have yelled at him, too! Yeah, maybe he's changed, but that doesn't mean that I should have to get over what he did without a little outlet for my feelings. God, how I hate him. But I can't do anything about it, since I'm too much of a wimp to face up to him.

I realized that I really should be getting back to class, and I had no idea how much time had passed since I had run out. I slowly approached the door and opened it; a lot of heads turned towards me. I guess I forgot how much of a scene I must have made when I left. Mostly everyone was packing up, so I took the opportunity to talk to my teacher. I walked up to her desk with an apologetic bow.

"Sorry I ran out like that; I felt a bit ill so I went to get a drink of water."

"It's fine," she said. She picked up a clipboard and looked at it, biting her tongue as she ran a finger down the list upon it. "Looks like you're all taken care of as far as the study groups are concerned."

"Huh?"

"Kaiba has already signed you up in one with him," she said, turning it around to show me. "Not that you two need to study, anyway." She laughed good-naturedly, and I slowly turned around to stare at Seto. He gave me one piercing look before the bell rang, signaling the end of school, then picking up his briefcase and leaving without another glance or word in my direction.

* * *

()-- In Japan, it is very uncommon to address someone by their first name. The suffixes -chan(girls) and -kun(boys) are added to first names if the two people are on close terms, but last names are used in most cases. If one is addressed by only their first name, it is a sign that they are _very_ close to the person or related through blood in some way. It can also be a sign of severe disrespect. 

Hence why poor little Kumiko is so confused .


	6. A New Old Acquaintance

Ahh…. The next chapter is done. First, reviews!

**ShibiChicken- **Ah, a man of few words. I'm glad you're confused : P.

**twilight eyes 8120- **-bows- you certainly give a lot of thought to this story; I'm glad :). This chapter definitely focuses on the relationship between Jonouchi and Kumiko, and you'll find out that it's slightly different than how it is with him and Seto.

**SladesDaughter- **Email you? Pff, I already did, silly. You email me back, then I might consider it. And I don't know about Kumiko's name; I merely went to a website and looked at all the Japanese girl names and picked this one out. So, for now, you are correct, since I have nothing with which to dispel your guess .

**tyrantyoshi-** Thanks for the review –smiles- and since ff .net is mean, if you tried to post a link in there, I didn't get it. Email me the petition link and I'll have a look at it, alright?

**Hikari, Lady of Light- **The Ramen made me give you suspense, I swear! It was all the Oriental kind! They made me do it! And nice job looking that up; this chapter will prove that yes, in fact, Jonouchi shall be a major part of the story :) hope you like this one!

**AllisonWalker- **Girl, you're so mean to poor Kumiko-chan, she's becoming happy! Be nice! –wags a finger- but keep reading, too! Pleeeease!

**Samurai Angel- **Eek, I got a little into your story and then had to go to work, and never finished it –smacks self- this week I have finals, which means I have half days on Tuesday and Wednesday, and no school on Thursday or Friday, so I'll finish it and review then! The part that I read sounded interesting :) keep up the good work and keep reading!

**hershey-kiss- **Well, she calls him Seto because she's so infatuated with him; as for the math question, that'll be answered later. And yes, Seto is gonna be a big jerk. But he looks good when he's a jerk, right? –looks around to hear crickets- Well, I think he does. Read on!

So! Sadly, this chapter does not have any Seto in it –ducks away from random tomatoes- and it's kinda a change from the usual; this chapter's a bit serious, but I promise all the happy stuff will come back in the next chapter, as will Seto! I promise!! This chapter, however, has to be in here. Gomen! Hope you all like it!

**Chapter 6- A New Old Acquaintance **

I'm in his study group. I am in Seto Kaiba's study group. I must have shaken my head a thousand times in disbelief on my way home. We're in a group together.

It had happened a few times before, but that was when the teacher assigned groups and we had no choice. Those times we didn't even talk. I remember the most recent one was in English… both he and I can speak it pretty well, since nearly everyone else in the class is just intent on learning the swear words in the language. So while we worked and did our homework, people were walking around and passing notes with the words on them. I don't even remember what half of them were, but one was another phrase for donkey or someone's butt. I thought it was annoying, actually, and judging by how quiet Seto was, he was trying his hardest to ignore them, too.

I don't think he noticed me then. He probably just saw me as another bug in the mass of students; he might have known that I was slightly smarter than most of them, but other than that… but that was then. Now he actually signed us up together to be in a group. Does that mean he likes me?

No, I can't get my hopes up. He probably just knew that he'd have to be in a group whether he wanted to or not, and he knew that he and I never speak whenever we're working together, so it was the easy way to avoid talking altogether?

He had called me Kumiko and nothing else. Not even kohai, as he does to so many underclassmen who get in his way. Then again, I don't exactly call him sempai… heck I've never called him anything. I've only spoken a few broken sentences in his presence, but when I talk about him to Shinobu I address him by his first name only—

"Kumi-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

I jumped quite a bit and whirled around. Shinobu was standing at the intersection I had just passed, waving his arms. "What?" I yelled back.

"Come over here!"

"Why!"

"Because! Come on!"

"Fine!" I coughed slightly as I turned around and meandered towards him, meeting up with him next to the stoplight. "What?"

"I want you to meet a bud of mine," he said, grinning and putting an arm around my shoulders. "He's not Kaiba, but hey. I think he would do well meeting a cutie like you." He nudged me in the ribs, and I shook my head.

"Stop saying that, will you? Heck, you told me to pull off the _Lolita effect_ and look at me!" I furtively gestured to my front, pointing out that my chest barely looked much bigger than a boy's.

"Kumi-chan, would I lie to you?"

I sighed and muttered a "no" as we walked along towards the nearest pizza place. He was right; one of his philosophies was not to give people false confidence. That didn't necessarily mean that he told people they were ugly, he just would find something else about them that made them feel good. I still didn't think I was much of a looker, no matter how many times he told me I was, though it did give me a warm, fuzzy feeling.

"Oh! Shinobu-kun, you'll never guess what happened today," I said, suddenly remembering why I was in such a daze.

"I have a hunch as to whom it's about," he replied, grinning.

"Yeah, well, it's completely different than before, believe you me." I was about to launch into the story when we walked into the restaurant, and I cut off, freezing halfway through the door.

"Hey, Jono!" Shinobu walked towards a table and high-fived the blonde sitting at it with his back turned. "I brought along a hot chick to eat with us, that alright with you?"

"Oh yeah, where is she?" He turned around in his seat, his eyes wandering the restaurant before they fell upon me. I think he might have had the same reaction I did, but he actually kept his cool and gazed at Shinobu. "I need to use the john; be right back." With that, he stood and walked to the bathrooms.

Shinobu stared after him for a second with a slightly puzzled expression, but he furtively gestured for me to come and sit. I got my legs to move and stiffly made my way over, sitting across from him and putting my bag down next to me on the seat. He grinned at me.

"Whatsa matter, Kumi-chan? Shocked to find someone better looking than Kaiba?" He sniggered at his own joke, waving a waitress over to get us some Cokes.

"Th-that's not it at all, Shinobu," I managed to stutter out.

Thanking the old woman as she walked away, his attention came to me, his expression switching to concern again.

"I know him already."

"So what's all the fuss about? Is he some ex you never told me about?"

I shook my head, hoping to God that it would never be that way. "He and I knew each other a while back, and, well, we haven't seen each other for a really long time…"

"Then what's the big deal? You look like you do whenever those mean girls make fun of you real bad—" Cutting himself off, it dawned on him. "He used to push you around?"

I nodded, thankful that I didn't have to say it.

He pursed his lips. "He seems like such a nice guy, Kumi-chan, are you sure it's the same one?"

"He looks exactly the same as he did before. His name is Katsuya Jonouchi, right?" I asked.

"I think so," he replied, tilting his head. "I just met him a few days ago when he switched in; he seemed really quiet, so I tried talking to him." A shrug. "Hey, maybe he's changed after all these years. People tend to think back at this age and regret what they did to people. I'm sure if you two get to know each other he'll be able to apologize."

"I don't want to, Shinobu," I said sternly. "It would be much too difficult."

"Pff." He waved a hand. "That doesn't sound like the Kumiko I know. When was the last time you backed away from a problem?"

"This is different—" I stopped talking as Shinobu looked over and motioned for Katsuya to sit down. He sure had taken a long time in the bathroom, considering he was a guy. Since the space next to me was occupied by my school bag, he sat down next to Shinobu a little awkwardly.

He looked about as nervous as I did, but I felt little sympathy. I was terrified. As I looked down at my slowly twisting hands, the drinks were set on the table. "So Kumiko here says you two go way back," Shinobu began, smiling warmly and patting him on the back.

"You might say that…" he muttered, glancing at Shinobu before studying his chopsticks again.

I shivered. I hadn't heard him speak in such a long time… I could barely stand it. I wanted to disappear, just evaporate and never have to look into those brown eyes again.

"So when did you guys meet? And who moved away?" I knew perfectly well that Shinobu was just trying his best to make us feel relaxed, but at the moment I felt like jamming a napkin into that big mouth of his to make him be quiet. I hated Katsuya so much.

"I think we were 7…" Oh God, he just looked at me. I saw it out of the corner of my eye, since I had then taken to staring at the salt and pepper shakers. "And my mom and dad split up; took my sister up north, and I went south with my dad. Up until then, we had gone to school together for about 3 years." He sounded just as tense as I was… but he was talking, at least.

"Wow, you sure remember a lot," Shinobu laughed. "Do ya remember how you two first met, by any chance?"

Finally, I looked up; Katsuya and I made eye contact. Both he and I knew very well how we had first met… no way in hell was I going to stick around to relive that. I felt like something snapped in me and suddenly I stood up, wrenched up my bag, and nearly ran out.

Oh God, why are they friends? How could Shinobu do that to me, trying to make Katsuya and I be friends? Is he _stupid_?

I collapsed against the brick wall of the building over once I had rounded the corner, hastily wiping away some angry tears that had surfaced. Why did Katsuya have to come back? Why are he and my best and only friend on good terms already? And now I got to thinking about how he and I first met, something I never wanted to revisit again… it was because of that that I've been terrified and angry with him.

I closed my eyes, burying my face in my hands. There's no way Shinobu knew what he was doing to me inside… I've never told him about Katsuya, not once, so he couldn't possibly fathom how scared I was.

"Kumi-chan?"

I was startled as Shinobu appeared beside me. I turned slightly to wipe my eyes one last time, hoping they weren't too red; I didn't want him feeling bad. He gently reached around me and put his hands on my shoulders, turning me to face him.

"He _really_ pushed you around, huh?" I had never seen him looking like that before; I could practically feel the remorse radiating off him.

I nodded, feeling a fresh wave of tears push its way forth. I gasped slightly at the effort it took to try to hold them back, and that only made me cry more. Shinobu wrapped his arms around me like a reflex, holding me tightly.

"He hurt me so much, Shinobu…"

"I'm sorry, Kumi-chan… I really am… even if it wasn't that bad I shouldn't have tried to make you two talk… Can you forgive an idiot?"

I laughed through my tears, squeezing him. "You didn't know…" I whispered. "…you had no idea in hell…"

He walked me home, holding my hand without saying a word. I was grateful that he didn't try to get me to tell him about Katsuya, and I think he knew it. The walk wasn't awkward, but it was definitely far from the norm; we usually talked about everything and nothing in a single conversation.

When we got to my house, I invited him in for a snack, but that plan was changed. I saw a familiar note on the refrigerator from my parents—they'd gone on another business trip, and wouldn't be back for at least a few days. I could call them any time I wanted, and they'd call me every evening to see that I was doing alright. I was used to the routine, and I rarely felt as lonely as I used to. Nevertheless, I invited Shinobu to eat dinner instead, since I love to cook and he loves food.

As I was stirring the rice and cutting up some fish, I felt better. Cooking always seems to do that to me, and the fact that Shinobu was there with me made me happy. Suddenly, his voice jumped from the room adjoined to the kitchen.

"Hey, you never told me what happened today with Kaiba!" He came in and leaned against the wall, grinning widely. "How'd you do it this time?"


	7. I Feel Pretty

So, the next chapter is done :) huzzah. Reviews!

**AllisonWalker- **I'm sure you are; Kumiko, however, is not –grins- Jonouchi was a big big meanie.

**Samurai Angel- **Everyone shall find out what Jonouchi did to poor little Kumiko, don't worry. It just may… take me a little while to tell you all, heh heh –evil laugh- well, I'll say that I'm keeping it from you all just to stall because I don't know where I'm gonna fit it in just yet XP. I'm continuing on in your story; sorry it's taking me so long!! You're not the only one who's asked me to read over their stories, so bare with me; I'll finish it…eventually.

**ShibiChicken- **Eep. Ok, I won't use your name anymore, and I'll spell it right from now on when we talk : p. And actually I think Jonouchi as a bully fits very well; what I was taking into account was his personality before Yugi met him and Honda—they were bad boys (in the manga they're even part of street gangs). So, the fact that he bullied Kumiko isn't that far off. I certainly hope this next chapter entertains your majesty –bows-.

**SladesDaughter- **I finally got your email. And I'm taking my sweet time replying to it. Har. I'm glad that you like Jonouchi's part in this, but shame on you for not having Seto at the very top of your list! Finger of shame! –points- Shaaaaaaaaame!

**Kikoken- **Development, eh? Well, I tried :) thanks for the comment!

**Hikari, Lady of Light- **No, you shall never know what happened! MWAHA! Eh heh, well yeah you're gonna find out, I just didn't put it in there so that people could woooooonder –waggles fingers- I hope you like this chapter as well, even though you still won't know what happened! Am I evil? Maybe.

**Jade Wyvern- **wow, you sure did whip through my chapters, and pushed the reviews up a bit :) arigato! And don't worry, I won't wait until the _very_ end to explain what happened between those two… it just may be a little later on… or it might be the next chapter… who knows where my twisted mind will go? Oh, the possibilities…. –snaps out of it- oh, and I finally read a chapter in your story; only two more before I'm caught up! Like I said to Samurai Angel, yours isn't the only story I've been asked to read. I have requests coming in from my other stories, too -.-.

So! Here is chapter 7! I hope you all enjoy it, as well as the picture that comes with it; look for the link to Harmful Crush, Chapter 7 in my profile if you want to see it! Now, off to random meandering…somewhere… hey! How's about in my head? Yeah…

**Chapter 7: I Feel Pretty**

The next day was a bit uneventful. I went to class, watched Seto… but my mind was more on Katsuya. It was so weird to see him again, especially since he looks the same, just taller. I don't think I changed much, either, since we last met. I certainly know my chest hasn't changed, since that used to be one of his favorite things to make fun of me for. He used to make fun of me even though _he_ hadn't hit puberty yet! I could have shot so much stuff back to him had I the courage, but nooooo. All I can do now is think about how sweet it'd have been if I had said something.

During lunch I saw Shinobu sitting with his usual click of friends, and he was introducing Katsuya to them. When Shinobu saw me come out, he muttered something to his friends and patted Katsuya on the back before ambling over to me.

"You doing alright?" he asked, smiling at me.

"Yeah, I'm better. I'm a little tired because I cooked so much, though," I said, slapping his stomach.

"Well, it was good eatin'. I was just trying to get Jono some friends today." He turned back to peer at his crowd of friends, who had started talking vibrantly amongst themselves, Katsuya with his hands in his pockets, occasionally saying a small sentence or two, but other than that he was just standing there.

"He doesn't look too comfortable," I said, feeling a slight pang of guilt because the sight of it made me grin inside.

"Yeah, well, no one's too open when they first meet people. I told my buds to talk about all the good places to eat, since he loves food." Shinobu shrugged and turned back to me. "You look pretty today," he said suddenly.

I smiled sheepishly. "Y-you think so?" I wasn't about to tell him, but that morning I had taken extra care in getting ready for school—I had gotten halfway through putting on some lipstick before I stopped and took it off, deciding that'd make it too obvious. I had a little blush on, and my teeth looked whiter since I had brushed them twice, for maybe about 2 minutes each time. That's how long dentists recommend, isn't it?

I swear I had never seen his mouth smile that wide. "You're so _cute_! Kaiba's gonna go nuts over you!"

I flinched, waving my hand to shush him. "I never said anything about Seto!"

"Oh come _on_, Kumi-chan," he laughed. "I have never known you to spend extra time on something unless you want to make a good impression. This is your first day being in Kaiba's group in math. Is it really that hard to put two and two together?"

I sighed. "I hate your logic."

He put a hand on my back. "I know. You know what you could do to make yourself look even nicer for Mr. Obsession?"

"I told you it wasn't for Seto!" I knew it was hopeless to deny it further, but I felt like it anyway.

"Alright, well to make yourself look nicer in general," he said, switching the words. Without waiting for a response, he moved his hand up to my head and tugged out my hair tie.

"Yagch!" I scooped up my hair in my hands, smoothing it out. "Shinobu, I spent a long time brushing it this morning! Give that back!" I bunched my hair into one hand and used the other to practically scramble up his arm, as he was holding it above my head.

"No. Just let your hair down, Kumi-chan, trust me." He gently made me release my grip and I felt my hair cascade onto my shoulders—boy did that feel weird. I ran my hands a few times through it, starting to worry about the little bump the hair tie had made in it. I was sure it looked weird. "There, you're a knockout," he said, smiling at me and patting the top of my head.

"Give iiiit!" I whined, trying to jump, but he smoothly stretched it and snapped it away; it soared across the courtyard and landed a few feet away from his friends. I turned back to him and glared. "I hate how I look with my hair down; you know that."

"And I think you look ten times prettier with your hair down; you know that. But," he shrugged apologetically. "The fact is, it's over there now. You still want it back?"

I was about to rebut that he should go get it, but I stopped when I saw Katsuya look at the ground beside him, hunching to pick up my hair tie. Oh. God. I looked at Shinobu, but he was peering at the same thing I was, and I pretended to suddenly find interest in the bricks in the wall behind him as he waved at Katsuya and pointed at me.

"Stop it!" I whispered fervently.

"Don't worry, Kumi-chan, he won't come over here; he remembers how you acted yesterday. Hey," he said, bending over slightly to be at my level. "Do you need to talk about what happened between you two? It seems like it's pretty bad, going off of how horribly he affected you yesterday."

"I'll tell you sometime," I said, attempting to smile. I was beginning to think that I did overreact a little bit; it was probably because everything seemed to happen at once and I wasn't ready for it. Now that I had accepted that Katsuya was back in my life, I didn't feel like I needed to run away to save myself; it had quieted down a bit to just wanting to avoid him at all costs.

The bell rang, and everyone immediately started into the school building. As Shinobu and I meandered forward, I saw Katsuya still standing where he had been. He was looking at my hair tie, slowly rubbing it between his fingers. One of Shinobu's friends called him, and he jumped a little, turning his head to look towards the speaker, nodding. When he began to leave, I saw his hand slide into his pocket, and my hair tie was gone.

It wasn't long before math came, as I kept thinking about why Katsuya would want to keep my hair tie. Maybe he just wanted to have something to tease me with? I thought it unlikely, but my train of thought would always stop there. So, I thought the same question over and over again, which didn't help much.

When everyone went to their study groups to look over homework, I nervously smoothed my hair out again and looked down at my paper, knowing very well that Seto and I would have nothing to discuss except… well, nothing. After a second I realized that Seto hadn't moved from his seat. I gazed at his back, feeling my stomach sink as my suspicions from the day before were confirmed—he only signed us up together for show.

Well, whatever. It was stupid to get my hopes up. Who'd want to be in a group with me, anyway? Seto works better by himself and so do I. So it works. We've made a mutual agreement already without even speaking to each other. He turned around in his seat.

"Are you going to come over here or what?"

Me? Come over there? Why? Oh, right. I gathered up my books and stood up, sitting down again in the empty desk next to his. He didn't look up from his paper or anything when I got settled. Why the heck did he want me to come over so that he could just ignore me? I cleared my throat; maybe I could come up with something to talk about.

"Well, I pretty much got everything." What the hell? How is that supposed to start up conversation?

"I'm sure you did," he muttered, not changing his position at all.

I suddenly remembered a question that had popped into my head before. How should I ask it without offending him? Should I try to hint it, or should I just come out of the blue? Will he even answer me? Ok, just… start talking and maybe it'll work out.

"Urm… there's something I've… I've wondered a few times, S-Kaiba-kun." Whew. Almost slipped and called him Seto right there.

He finally lifted his gaze to me, once again halting my brain's functions without even trying. "What."

"Well, it's not… it's not that important, really… just… never mind," I trailed off, starting to write again. Damn. I just messed up a chance to talk to him. I saw a long, slender hand grip the side of my desk and it suddenly was pulled a few inches toward him. I gulped, hopefully not too loudly, and looked at him again.

"We both have nothing to do, so why don't you just ask me?" he said, leaning his hand upon his fist.

"I-I really don't think—"

"I might have a hunch as to what it is, and I know what my answer is already. Just ask, Kumiko." What the hell is he getting at?

"I was just—just wondering… why… why you're in the same math class… as me…" I mumbled, hoping to God that he wouldn't become enraged.

Surprisingly, I saw no hint of offense—on the contrary, he blinked and looked a bit confused for a second. Did I say something wrong? Was my grammar off? What was the matter?

"What?"

I hurriedly took the opportunity to elaborate. "It's, well, I just thought it's a bit weird, since… well granted I'm a little ahead of most people in my grade… but—" Oh God, for the first time I'm going to be complimenting him to his face. "—I'm sure you're-you're much smarter than just about everyone in the whole school, so I was just wondering why-why you're in the same class as me." Did that sound ok? Did I just make myself look like a doofus?

He snickered slightly, sitting back in his chair. "It's only for show, really. I've excelled too much, so the administrators of the school suggested that I receive private tutoring in Business Calculus and Statistics while studying regular Calculus and Algebra 2 in school. I see no point to it."

As he went back to work, I felt weird. Granted, I did get my question answered, but his initial reaction was what was getting to me now. Was my question not what he thought I was going to ask? What predecided answer did he have for me? I wanted so badly to ask, as it nagged me through the whole class period, but I immediately forgot about it when class ended.

When he and I stood up, I unconsciously fixed my hair again before picking up my books, attracting his attention to me again. "Your hair's down today," he said, packing his books away in his briefcase.

"Oh-yeah, that," I said, blushing a bit. "My friend Shinobu stole my hairtie and—"

"It looks better."

I think something along the lines of "Heh?" escaped my lips as he left, but I don't think he heard me. Did Seto Kaiba, the guy of my dreams, just…. _compliment _me? No. Oh my God. He—how—wait—my hair—he—no—was Shinobu—ARGH!

I couldn't think of anything; my mind was in total chaos. I only knew one thing for sure as I quickly walked home that day—

Tomorrow I'm wearing my hair down.


	8. Sleeping Memories

Doo doo doo doooooo! That was supposed to be a fanfare, but whatever :). I got fourteen reviews for that last chapter –finally shuts jaw- this story is more popular than Kiseki, something I didn't think possible. Yay for getting better at writing!

**twilight eyes 8120- **Eeeeeexcellent –Mr. Burns grin and fingers- I'm insanely happy that you are confused… hee hee. And you're not going to know Seto's predecided answer, either! I shall keep you in the dark! –turns off the lights-

**kikoken- **Fast! Once a week is the pattern I've fallen into! That's as fast as I can write! And yes, you should update The Missing; letting it sit there and get cold is worse than me dropping only hints about Seto!

**panmotto- **Yes! Another reader! Another confused reader… hee. Neither of your questions will be answered in this chapter, however. Mwaha. You'll just have to keep reading!

**Arabella Silverbell- **-hurriedly shuts Araballa's diary and tosses it away- Reading your diary? Of course not! Whatever gave you that idea?

**ShibiChicken-** Nice to see you as your normal chatty self again. And stop thinking. You'll ruin my plot! –holds up a ring of masking tape and stops- Oh, and I wasn't online because I hardly ever go online anymore. I'm sorry I'm not there to chat anymore! Email me if you get bored again –gets a length of tape- now, to stop you from thinking out the outcome… I will say that one prediction you made in your review was wrong, but other than that… -turns out his lights- you'll be in the dark, too.

**Aoi Dragon- **Unfortunately I have only seen the first episode of Escaflowne, so I can't really empathize with that –grins- I do apologize for the chapter title, though; for you, that chapter shall be dubbed "The Hairtie".

**BishounenzAngel- **Fluffery? …….. interesting word…. It's fun! Fluffery! Whee! –coughs- anyway, I'm glad it makes you feel fluffery! And I hope it will continue to be adorable –Harmful Crush puts on puppy eyes- Thanks!

**SukiLovesAnime14- **Naah, don't fret about not reviewing; I remember when I moved. I was without a computer for about a week! –cries-

**Jade Wyvern- **Seems you have a few issues with your other personalities –smiles sympathetically- Seto only makes a very small appearance in this chapter. Gomen! Oh, and stop hugging Seto in your reviews. He's mine :P. –points to pen name- Oh—wait.. I guess that'd make me his. Same thing! Grr.

**Skitty 2004- **I followed your review as best I could; I wish you the best of luck with your situation! Kinda sounds like something that happened to me recently… I was waiting for my crush to give me some sort of sign that he liked me (the one who inspired this story, in fact), and I vowed to not go out with anyone unless I was sure I couldn't have him, but then I asked my best guy buddy to the next school dance and now we're going out… wait… that's completely different. I can empathize with the first part of your dilemma!

**tyrantyoshi- **I emailed you before, but I emailed you again with my screen names in there x) if it still doesn't work, you could always just go to my profile and look somewhere in the middle where I have both of them written.

**SirisAnkh- **Whoa, what a coinkydink, eh? I'm glad you like it so far! Awesome penname, by the way.

**AllisonWalker- **Hee hee, you really are ruthless. Independence is awesome! And I know what –cough- areas you mean; you made it quite plain in your review of Passing the Time –grins-.

**Hikari, Lady of Light- **A… brain fart? That's definitely a phrase I haven't heard before. Anywhoodleedoodles, yeah, I love Katsuya Jonouchi WAY better than Joey Wheeler –shudders at the horrible dubbed name- and you, like everyone else, shall have to wait to find out what was with the hairtie! Ahh, the power…

Alright, now that my fingers are about to fall off, I shall continue on with the story! This one's slightly longer than the others so far, and that's about all I can say. Enjoy!

**Chapter 8-**

Ring, riiiiiiiiiing.

"Whaaa…" I groggily lifted my head from my pillow, wondering vaguely what was making the high-pitched, annoying sound that had woken me up. It was the phone. I sort of rolled out of bed and picked up the phone. "Yah," I muttered out.

"Kumi-chan! Rise and shine! Where are ya?" Shinobu's voice slowly registered through my mind.

"Wha're you callin' so—so early?" I asked, stifling a yawn.

"Early, it's 9:30!"

"9:30?" My eyes snapped open as I was effectively woken up. "9:30?! School started a half hour ago! Crap!" Without waiting for a response, I slammed down the phone and hopped over my bed, scrabbling for my uniform. I got into the bathroom, knowing that I'd have no time to brush my teeth, but I brushed my hair and was about to put it up, when I remembered that I was going to wear it down for Seto. I shook my head slightly, grabbed my bag, and dashed down the stairs, nearly falling and crashing to my death.

I fumbled to get the front door open, and I heard the phone start to ring again. Well, no time for that, I had to go. I threw open the door and squeaked as I ran into something rather solid standing behind it. "What the—"

Shinobu was looking down at me as he hung up on his cell phone, starting to laugh. "Wow, Kumi-chan, what's the matter?"

"What the hell are you still doing here? Why aren't you at school?" I asked, flabbergasted and out of breath.

"Why would I be there?"

"Because it starts at 9! Let's go!" I made my way past him, shutting the door behind me.

"Kumi-chan—"

"Come on, Shinobu!"

"It's Saturday."

I froze, my bag swinging in front of me and nearly making me fall flat. "It's…"

"Saturday," Shinobu repeated with a laugh, coming over to where I stood.

My body must have gone back into sleep mode at the very mention of the word, as I was slow to react. But it filtered through. "That means I should still be in bed," I muttered, trying my hardest to ignore the sniggers he was not trying very hard to conceal.

"Nuh-uh, Kumi-chan; you're up already," he commanded, looping an arm through mine.

"That's 'cause you woke me up, dummy." Now that I knew it was Saturday, I knew that my alarm didn't turn on for a reason, and that I had gotten myself up and nearly died, all just because I thought it wasn't Saturday. I felt really grouchy.

"I always wake you up early on the weekends! You know I can't sleep in!" he whined. "What am I supposed to do without my little Kumi-chan when I'm awake?"

"Go hang out with your other friends."

"They sleep in, too!"

"So wake _them_ up, for God's sake!" I yelled. "I'm going back to sleep. If you want to stay until I decide to wake up, fine, but I'm going back to sleep." I paused. My brain must have been shutting down already to have let a redundant phrase like that slip out.

"Fine. I'll wake you up every half hour until you decide to wake up and spend the day with me," he said, smiling and turning the both of us around to go back to my house.

Once inside, I didn't feel the need to go upstairs, so I flopped onto the couch and curled up, immediately feeling drowsiness overpowering me.

"Kumi-chaaaaan, I can see up your skiiiiirt."

"Buzz off." I threw a pillow at him and pulled the decorative blanket over myself, burying my face into the just as fancy pillow that looked like it had a doily for a cover. I vaguely heard Shinobu going to the bookshelf in the living room to pull out some of my books to read. Why he'd want to read girly manga or fantasy was beyond me; not that I took any time to think about it. I fell asleep in a few minutes to the sound of crinkling pages.

* * *

_Crinkle…crinkle… jump… skip…a giggle…_

**_CRASH_**

_Crying… what's going on? _

_Yelling… swearing… it wasn't me, I swear it wasn't…_

_"Your boobs are so small!" "Hey! Four-eyes!" "Go play with your Gundam models!"_

_I don't like Gundam… I don't like it… I know I'm small… leave me alone…_

_Kumi-chan…_

_Who's there…_

Kumi-chan…

Leave me alone…

"Kumiko!"

"What?" I shouted, sitting up and waving a hand in front of me to ward off whoever it was. Oh right, Shinobu.

He was looking at me funny. "'I don't like Gundam'?" he asked.

"I know you don't," I muttered, rubbing my eyes.

"You were talking in your sleep, Kumi-chan; sounded like it was a dream you didn't like at all, actually."

"Did I say anything else?" I had never known myself to be a sleeptalker… seeing as how I don't have any siblings to poke fun at me for it.

"Well to me it sounded like you were trying to defend yourself. Maybe is was a dream about Jono?"

"How the hell did you make _that_ connection?" I was fully sitting up now, and I stretched until I heard a satisfying pop in my back, then settling back down, still in somewhat of a sleepy daze.

"It sounded like someone was making fun of you, and Jono is the only one I know of that made fun of you more than anyone else; is it really that hard?" His logic was at work again.

"Oh."

He put down my copy of Wish and shifted his weight on the love seat. "Do you feel up for telling me what happened?"

I thought for a moment. "Well, I'll try not to talk for too long, else I might wake up fully and change my mind," I decided, smiling.

_A little girl hopped around on the sidewalk, jumping over the cracks and humming a soft tune to herself as she did so. A man was reading a newspaper next to her on the bus bench, coughing every now and again. He didn't seem to notice her or her musings. Her parents were inside the store behind them, getting some groceries. It was a warm, sunny afternoon, and the little girl was wearing a small Sunday dress with flowers on it, her thick glasses glinting brightly as the sun hit them, her short blonde hair of youth shining just as brightly._

_Out of nowhere, shouts resounded down the street, and the little girl stopped in her musings to stare at the source, pushing her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. A boy suddenly appeared, riding his bicycle as if his life depended upon it, his blonde hair blowing behind him from the extreme speed. The child took a step back in amazement as he approached; he looked so strong and more mature than any boy she had seen, his hands gripping the bike handles as he grit his teeth. _

_"Move!" he shouted at her._

_Instinctively she obliged, her glasses catching the sun once again and flashing; the burst of light caught the boy directly in the eyes. He swerved to the side with a yell as he thrust his arm over his face; the little girl screamed, and they collided._

_The girl fell backwards, skidding on her arm and tearing open her skin; blood sprang to the wound as well as in her mouth as she bit down on her tongue when she fell; the boy toppled off and got up, ignoring the gravel embedded in his palms. As the girl started to cry, the boy hurried over to her and sat her up; no sooner had he done that, when the shouts were nearer and more threatening. A flash of panic manifested itself in the boy's eyes, and he thrust his hand into his pocket. Fumbling for only a second, he glanced back at the fat man now slowly galumphing towards them, the shaking of his fist apparent even from a distance._

_The boy shoved something into the girl's hands, then streaking off to hide somewhere; the girl was crying too hard to care; her eyes were clouded not only from tears but from the loss of her glasses, as they had been flung off her in her fall. The man on the bus bench was no longer there, and she sat alone on the hot pavement; the fat man stumbled to a halt in front of her, panting like a winded rhinoceros._

_"Caught you!" he shouted, pointing furiously at her with a sausage-like finger. "You little brat! Give them back!"_

_It was only then that the little girl took the time to stare at what was in her hand—two shiny, diamond earrings. She looked at the man again with a look of terror on her face as she realized what had just happened, tears still streaking down her face. He stooped and snatched them out of her hand, unfazed by the blood now dripping onto her leg and staining her dress, and began to shout at her, waving his fists like a madman, looking like he would strike her at any moment._

_"Where are your parents?" he finally demanded. He roughly yanked her up by the back of her collar right as her mother and father came out._

"The store owner didn't have his glasses on… since I had blonde hair back then he thought it was me that had stolen them and run off. I couldn't convince them that I wasn't the culprit; I was too frightened to do anything. All I wanted to do was get away from that guy… he was so scary, and the fact that I had blood in my mouth was freaking me out. I was only about 6; I didn't know how to make them believe me."

"Do they still think you took them?" Shinobu asked.

I shook my head. "They knew that I could never be that insistent when I was lying, and I told them it was Katsuya; I knew who he was from school but up until then we hadn't talked or met or anything. After he got in trouble, he… I guess he got really ticked off at me, and made fun of me every day after that. Sometimes he'd even punch me or steal my stuff. I just—" I shuddered, rubbing my arms.

Shinobu was silent for a moment. I glanced up at him, and he looked a bit unsure, biting his lip thoughtfully.

"What is it?"

"That's… definitely what you'd call getting off on the wrong foot." It sounded awfully forced.

I pursed my lips. "Anything else you want to add?"

"Well." He put his hands together, narrowing his eyes a bit, as though he were trying to find the right way to phrase what he was thinking. "…granted, that must have been scary as a kid… but… that's really not all that… bad." He shrugged apologetically.

I raised an eyebrow incredulously. "What do you mean, 'not that bad'?"

"I'm not saying that it wasn't traumatic, but I really think that you should be over your fear of him by now… I mean, that was what, ten years ago? From the way you were acting, I thought he had molested you or something." He let out a small chuckle. "I'm so glad that wasn't the case."

"But—but, it was scary!" I defended pitifully.

"I think you just had a mental block against it, Kumi-chan. Maybe you refused to think about it, so your mind didn't have time to grow up about it. Have you ever told anyone else about this?"

I shook my head.

"There you go," he said, sitting back. "You've been avoiding getting over it all these years, so you're still 6 years old when you think about it. I suggest you think about it more and then try to get to know Jono again. He sure as hell doesn't sound like the guy who hit you with his bike."

I cast my eyes downward. Now that I thought about it, I had almost never thought about it after that; seeing Katsuya again forced me to. Shinobu never ceases to amaze me with his reasoning. It made perfect sense when he said it to me; I sure as hell would have never thought of that in a million years.

He sniggered slightly. "I still can't imagine you as a blonde, though."

I smirked and threw the doily pillow at him; he didn't react fast enough and it smacked him in the face. He leaped onto the couch beside me and put me in a headlock, rubbing his knuckles over the top of my head for a second before hugging me tightly. "Don't rush yourself, Kumi-chan. Ten years of growing up is hard to do in a few days; I've tried."

"When you were still too young to buy porn and wanted to grow a beard to look older, you mean?" I joked, putting my head on his shoulder. He laughed and put his head on mine. "…thanks, Shinobu."

"No prob, Kumi-chan." He sat up slightly and I got up. "You're awake now, I assume?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna go get changed."

"Keep your hair down, will ya?" he shouted after me as I went up the stairs.

"I'll think about it!"

I left it down, mainly because I felt like taking more of Shinobu's advice now that he had come to the root of my fear of Katsuya, but I told him it was because I couldn't find a hairtie. He knew I was lying—I have about a million scattered around my room.

That day we met up with a few of his friends, and I noticed that they seemed to be flicking glances at me more than usual. I also remember that we passed by the library and saw Seto coming out of it—Shinobu swore to me that as soon as I looked away in embarrassment, Seto did a double-take.


	9. The Session

Hey hey! Here is chapter 9, finally! I couldn't update last weekend because I was too busy between work and the school dance XD. Anyway, reviews!

**BishounenzAngel—**Yes, Seto is a bastard sometimes. That's why we love him, ne? ;)

**panmotto—**Indeed, there was a double-take… mwahaha. And there's more to come with Jono and Kumiko, don't worry. Oh, how I love drama –grins-

**kikoken—**You updated! But it wasn't long enough. I'm still glaring at you. –glares- but I hope you enjoy this chapter! –makes puppy eyes for a second before glaring again-

**ShibiChicken—**Don't pester me, mister –pokes- I barely come on anymore because I work, ok? …I'll probably be on yahoo tomorrow night, so if you're that desperate… -shakes head- And Seto isn't one to look at girls. After all, he's a workaholic, he has no time for romance –winks-

**SukiLovesAnime—**I shall! You keep reading!

**AllisonWalker—**Fortunately, she did not have a pimple on her nose ;) Seto was just surprised to see that she listened to him and left her hair down.

**Mariku's-heart64—**A new reader! –does cartwheels- I'm glad you're enjoying it, too! Have fun with the rest! And three thumbs! In your face, movie critics!

**Rakuen No Tobira—**blushes furiously- I'm not so sure this is _that_ good, but thank you very much! I appreciate that –grins- I hope you get caught up and continue to read as I post! Arigato!

**Samurai Angel—**Well, Shinobu said he did, so I guess he did –smiles- Wait till these next few chapters… whoo hee hee hah…

So! This chapter begins the scene that I've been planning to do from the very beginning; I'm super excited. Warning: There's a REALLY nasty cliffhanger. Ha. Feel my wrath of absent writing. This is, however, one of the longest chapters so far. Enjoy while it lasts ;).

**Chapter 9-**

Monday came, and I got up on time, spent a while brushing my teeth and my hair, and calmly started on my walk to school, thankful that it wasn't windy at all. I had a good feeling about that day; I don't know what it was. Classes went by quickly, and before I knew it, it was lunchtime.

Shinobu came and found me in my usual spot. "Hey, Kumi-chan, my buds want you to come over and sit with us," he said, grinning widely.

"Sure they do," I mocked back.

"They do, actually." He put a hand on my shoulder and pointed at his group, and they waved at me. "Come on; I've been meaning to try and get you some new friends anyway. If you don't like socializing with them, then I promise to never introduce you to anyone again. Fair?"

I sighed, smiling and putting my book away. "Yeah, sure." I stood up and we walked over to them; they were really friendly, actually. I was a bit uncomfortable when they started asking me about myself, but after the few former introductions they calmed down and started talking about random things. It was nice, just being able to sit there in their company; there were definitely a few that were really good-looking and funny, but none of them could have compared to Seto, not in this lifetime.

I was just starting to really enjoy myself, when I saw the mean girls pass by the table. They usually did that, flaunting whoever had their skirt hiked up the highest, trying to get the guys to notice at least one of them. It really annoyed me, but they didn't do it this time. They were all looking at me.

"Hey, Ikari!" the leader cooed at me, roughly grabbing my arm and hoisting me up. "Could we borrow you for an eensy little conversation?"

"Uh—I-I—"

"Hey, you girls better leave her alone." Shinobu got a hold on my other arm, his grasp firm, but gentle, unlike the girl's. I could feel her French-trimmed nails digging through my uniform.

"Don't worry, Shinobu-kun, we just need to ask her something, honest." Considering how in love she was with Shinobu, I couldn't understand how she was able to talk to him without stuttering.

"It's ok, Shinobu..." I murmured. He gave me a stern look before letting go of me, and I was escorted towards my usual place, where not many people were. Suddenly the girl pulled me behind the building and shoved me against the wall.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled at me.

"I-I don't—I don't know what you're talking about," I said, rubbing my back.

She let out a sarcastic laugh, the rest of the girls imitated her. "You really think you're better than us, don't you, with your pity boyfriend and his friends… you're such a slut."

"Oh, so I don't have to sleep with half the guys in the school to qualify for your position?" It fell out of my mouth before I could stop it, and I knew it was a mistake before I could even relish in the sight of her reaction.

"I don't try to make myself look good by clinging desperately onto boys; you obviously can't see that they think you're the ugliest—" She prodded me in the chest with each insult. "—flattest—most annoying girl in Domino High!"

"So why are you jealous of me?" Uh oh. Another slip. I was digging myself into a deeper hole.

"I am _not _in the slightest! It's just your stupid, stuck-up attitude that I can't stand! One day, I'll make Shinobu-kun realize what an idiot he's been, that while he was busy pitying you, he had someone perfect for him in every way standing right under his nose! Your helplessness is the only reason his friends even talk to you; they know you're easy to take advantage of."

"You've said all this about Shinobu to me a million times before; why do you need to say it again?" I asked.

"Because you've certainly gotten more popular with the guys recently," she sneered. "I just want to keep them from losing their focus on someone who actually matters, and you're not doing anything to help." She pointed a finger at me, leaning towards me. "I swear if you do anything to get in my way, you'll be sorry," she hissed. She reached behind her and snatched something out of her friend's hand. I shrieked as she dumped the hot cup of ramen all over the front of my uniform, the soup burning my skin as it trickled down my leg. The noodles fell at my feet with a sickening "splat", and the girls broke into a fit of giggles and stalked off.

The whole front of my uniform was drenched, and next period I had class with Seto! Oh, crap, what am I gonna do? What the hell am I gonna do!

"Kumi-chan!" came Shinobu's voice. I suspected he had heard my cry of terror. I really didn't want him to make a big fuss, so I decided to dash inside the school.

Once I was safely in the bathroom, I took my arms off my front and looked at myself in the mirror. I was flushed, all right; the tops of my legs were pink because of the hot soup. God, I look like I just crawled out of a sewer. How the hell am I supposed to fix this?

I started by wringing out what hadn't dripped off me already, then grabbing some damp paper towels and fervently scrubbing the fabric, hoping that it would somehow lessen the smell. Oh god, this isn't helping at all. Why did she do that? She could have punched me or something; at least then it wouldn't look like I wet myself! Oh, crap, there's another thing! I can't waste too much time doing this; I need to use the hand dryer!

I threw the towels away and stepped in front of the machine, pounding a fist on the button to make it start up; I stood on my tiptoes, lifting my skirt a little towards the stream of warm air. Thankfully I got mostly dry before the bell rang, and I hurriedly gathered up my bag and went to class, massaging my hands together to keep them from cramping up from holding my uniform for so long. I took in a deep breath, smoothing out my skirt a little and running my hands through my hair a few times; I was grateful that the ramen had missed my head.

I walked in and started towards my seat, when I felt a strong grip upon my arm, holding me back. "You don't need to sit there anymore; there's no point in not sitting down next to me right when class starts." Seto tugged me into the seat next to his and resumed whatever he had been doing on his laptop.

He… he just… he just touched me! I felt as though his slender hand was still imprinted on my skin, and I blushed furiously, turning to get something out of my bag to disguise it somewhat. Oh God, ok, now nothing to get into a fuss over, he was just saving us some valuable work time, that was all. But he could have done that without grabbing me—stop hoping! Sheesh!

Once class had settled down, the teacher announced a pop quiz, to the disappointment of everyone, including me. Her "pop quizzes" were more like mini tests that took the whole period for most people. Seto and I usually finished first about twenty minutes in, but that left us with nothing to do. This one was over derivatives and logarithms, things I happen to be really good at, so I finished relatively early—not before Seto, of course.

Towards the end of the period, everyone had finished, and the teacher started into complicated word problems that I was struggling to understand as she whipped through them. "A cylinder has a radius of 4 centimeters and a height of 12 centimeters. It is being filled," the teacher explained, her chalk scraping across the board like a machine; this was probably the third or fourth time she had taught this today. "…at a constant rate of 2pi centimeters cubed per second. When the height of the water is 6 centimeters, at what rate is the level of the water changing?" She turned to the class with a big smile, obviously expecting someone to shout out the answer.

No one spoke, as they were still writing down the original problem, some were chewing their pencils with indecision. I was one of them. I hate word problems.

"One eighth of a centimeter per second."

"Very good, Kaiba-kun! I can tell you were paying attention!" she praised. "Let's try anoth—"

The bell cut her off sharply, and everyone picked their bags up hastily to get out of there before she could assign some homework. "Do worksheet 6.1 for tonight!" she nearly shouted.

I groaned and started packing my things up—I wasn't in any particular rush. Seto got his things packed away and watched me until I was done. "You looked really confused through that whole lecture," he pointed out blandly.

"Uh, yeah, I was just sorta getting into it a little slow—"

"Don't lie; you had no idea what was going on." Funny how easily he can crush one's feeble attempts at an excuse. I decided not to respond, flipping the top of my bag closed and pulling it over my head. "You do know the point of study groups, don't you?" he asked.

I paused, wondering whether it would be wise to answer. I looked up at him. "To make sure people stop failing this class, which is why it's kinda pointless for us," I replied, nearly wincing at the stupid joke I had tried to make.

"Not so pointless for word problems, apparently. I suggest we have a study session outside school to make you realize how simple this stuff really is. What are you doing today after school?"

"N-now wait just a—"

"Right, nothing, as I suspected. Your house is more than likely closer than mine, so we'll have it there"

"Hang on a minute!" I said, exasperated and quite flustered. "Don't I get any say in this?"

"Of course not. I'm doing this for your own good. Unless you'd prefer to refuse my help, that is." He gave me one of his piercing stares; I was sure that he knew I was no match for it. I looked at my feet.

"I-it's not that," I murmured, trying to calm my pounding heart.

"Are you afraid to be alone with me?" he prodded.

I met his eyes again. "How did you know my parents were out of—" I cut myself off. Crap.

"Well, I know now. For God's sake, it's just a study session." Somehow he didn't seem like he was too focused on the second part of his statement. I had just told him that my parents weren't going to be there.

What am I thinking? Like anything could happen! Like he'd even _want_ to do anything! Why am I getting so freaked out? Calm down, calm—I can't! Seto's coming to my house, _MY_ house! Oh God, what do I do?

"We'd better get going if we want it to be light out when we start," he said, somewhat mocking my silent panic. I obligingly followed him out, fidgeting with the strap of my bag nervously as I felt the butterflies in my stomach multiply like horny rabbits.

On the way home, we were really quiet. I didn't particularly want to talk out of fear of sounding like an idiot. About a minute from my house, he spoke.

"You wore your hair down again," he commented, obviously knowing why,

"I… couldn't find a hairtie," I said, cursing at the fact that he already knew I was lying.

"Right." He slightly sniffed at the air. "You know, people along your street must really like cooking or something; I've smelled something all the way here."

"U-uh, yeah, they do," I said quickly, unconsciouslytugging atmy sleeves in my palms. The slight movement caught his eye, and he suddenly gripped my wrist and pulled it up to his level, taking another whiff of the air.

"It's you," he said, trailing his eyes down my arm and to my face, not releasing his grip.

"That's what I meant," I rushed out, lightly tugging my arm back so that I didn't have to stand on tiptoe as I walked. "That is… well, I like to cook a lot—"

"In your uniform?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow.

I really didn't want to tell him the real reason why I smelled like a noodle bowl, but fate gave me a break right then. "Umm… I—oh! Here we are." We just reached my house, and I took the opportunity to try to distract him from my lack of a plausible explanation. I fumbled around in my bag while he gazed at my house in silence, and I realized with a start that I didn't have my key.

"Crap… hang on, there's a back way in," I said, stalking past him and around the back of the house. He followed me. "You can just wait by the front, you know, I don't need any help."

"It would be faster if you just unlocked the back door to let me in."

He was actually getting on my nerves a little bit right then, so I huffed slightly and dropped my bag on the back porch. There was a loose window next to the back door, and I rattled it just a little bit to make it slide open; from there I could reach in and unlock the door from the inside. I got it open, picked up my bag, and walked inside, shutting the door after Seto.

We were in the kitchen, and I was thankful that I tried to keep things tidy while my parents were gone, as I would have been severely embarrassed if he were to see what a slob I am when they _are_ home. "I can probably whip up something really quick, if you're hungry," I offered, continuing straight through to the living room and dropping my bag beside the coffee table.

"No thanks," he said, taking off his shoes beside the door and following me. I couldn't see why he did; I had walked in my house plenty of times with muddy shoes on, but I didn't really care. I was starting to get nervous again now that we were alone in my house.

"I'm… I'm gonna go get changed really fast, alright?" I said, nodding upstairs.

He made a slight noise of affirmation and set down his briefcase; the bookcase stuffed full of my manga had caught his eye. Peering through narrowed eyes at them, he turned and looked at me as I was going up the stairs. "You like tragic romance stories?"

I laughed in a voice that was slightly higher in pitch than normal. "Y-yeah… it's a small hobby; I don't really spend time reading that much or…" I cleared my throat and went the rest of the way up to my room; I could hear him chuckling at me.

I shut the door a little loudly and leaned against it, closing my eyes and tilting my head to look at the ceiling.

Oh my God, Seto Kaiba is in my house. My house. I would have never even dreamed that something like this could happen, no way. I wonder what he thinks of it… does he think my books are frivolous? What if he does get hungry, what should I make? Will he like it? Does my hair still look ok? Alright, calm down… first focus on getting out of these smelly clothes…

I unbuttoned my jacket and pulled my shirt over my head, hurriedly smoothing my hair down again and readjusting my glasses. I stood there in the middle of my room for a little while longer, holding my shirt and looking down at it.

What if the mean girls find out that he came here? They're freaking out enough as it is… well, it's not like any of them like Seto or anything… at least I think they don't… I felt a small surge of possessiveness come over me. If they do, they do a terrible job at showing it. Besides that, if they knew he was over here, rumors would start up and spread like wildfire… oh God.

Seto Kaiba is in my house.

I barely heard the door click open behind me, but when I whirled around and met eyes of cold ice staring me down, I still remember the first thing that flashed through my mind:

_Oh God, I'm only a B-cup._


	10. Does He Like Me?

Wow, that last one sparked so many reviews I thought I was gonna be barreled over! I will do my best, however, and answer them all :).

**panmotto—**B-cup is a bra size, silly –grins- indeed, she was still half-naked.

**BishounenzAngel—**I assure you. Seto really is there. And don't get all fussy over that sort of thing. Honestly, every now and then I wish I have _smaller_ ones. It's kinda like the problem with hair… you have straight and you want it curly, you have curly and you want it straight… am I going off on a tangent? Well, whatever. I'm sure you have more to go –wink-.

**ShibiChicken—**Good heavens, NO! I would _never_ turn this into a fic like Passing the Time—Kumi-chan is just too innocent! And you're right, I don't know why you're reading this either, but I'm happy you are! I'm glad to have a weirdo guy giving his insight into my extremely shoujo story.

**Rauken No Tobira**—I am very happy indeed that you're going to that extent to keep up… you made yourself the 41st person to do that… it's scary in a way! But thank you! And you did mention that before, however, I failed to acknowledge it :) I certainly hope you like the conflict with the two. And I went and read some of your stuff—I LOVE Fruits Basket! Those mini stories were uber kawaii. I'll review them… at some point….

**twilight eyes 0120—**Ha! Maybe _you_ thought it was a stupid joke, but I thought it was very clever. I might have laughed a little too much, actually, but… yeah. Here's the resolution to the evil cliffie :).

**Aoi Dragon—**Nope! Jonouchi and Seto are the only actual YGO characters in here; I don't see any point in having anyone else take part. I do love my OC's and two YGO bishies!

**AllisonWalker—**Again with the meanness to Kumiko! Shame! –bows- but I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble, I do wish you the very best of luck with whatever happens!

**Kikoken—**Heh, I've always liked that word… bimbos… -giggles- anyway, she won't faint—if she did, what would Seto do? 0.0

**SirisAnkh—**A take it you liked the ending as well; here's your update! (by the by, did I ever mention before that your penname is awesome?)

**YamiServant—**No! You can't have Seto in your house! …heh, just kidding:) we can all have Seto in our house if we just imaaaaagine!

**ChaosMagicianGirl—**Glad you're reading:) and the comments made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Oh, and she's in her bra and a skirt, seeing as how it's the bottom of her uniform… it's a tad worse than just a bra and pants.

**Jade Wyvern—**Ah, I'm used to Seto's ramblings. You should hear him when I forget to do the dishes ;). I hope you like this chapter!

**chibi neko doll—**0.0 you've NEVER had a crush? Well, as I say to everyone, I'm glad you're reading! Kawaii penname, too!

**Mariku's-heart64—**Seem if Kumiko stayed in the bathroom, the plot wouldn't go as I wanted it to! I love being in control, hee hee.

**SukiLovesAnime—**I shall! You keep reading!

Whew…. –is now dead- there were so many! If I forgot anyone, gomen in advance! Almost makes me apprehensive about posting this one… well! Just in time for Valentine's Day, here is the second part of the scene I've been planning from the beginning! This is where the turmoil begins! –evil laugh- COUGH HACK COUGH-

**Chapter 10:**

I reacted faster than I thought humanly possible; the shirt in my hand was over my chest in a split second. "K-Kaiba-kun, what—what are you—" I slightly regained some of my speech. "—don't look, you pervert!"

He cocked his head slightly to the side, easily snapping the door shut behind him.

I gulped; I realized that it would be unwise to insult him. "I-I mean—" I shut my eyes and turned away; there was no way to pull my shirt back on without showing my tiny bra to him again—once was humiliating enough. "I-if you're looking for the bathroom, it's—it's—" I couldn't come up with anything to say, and I already knew that he had _meant_ to come in there.

The muffled sound of his footsteps reached my ears, and I remained still, afraid to turn around, my face feeling as though I had gotten a nasty sunburn with hot sauce poured on it. The rest of me felt extremely cold, and I was shivering. My mind refused to string any logical thought together. Seto—me—no shirt—Seto—YEEK!

I jumped as I felt his breath on the back of my neck. "You're awfully thin," he said, leering over me.

"Uh—I—I—" God, what the hell am I supposed to say to that? "Ah!" I yelped as he trailed his finger down my side—it was so cold.

"Not in a bad way… from the way that your uniform fits, you look a lot heavier." I could feel goose bumps creeping up my arms and I tensed. Was that an insult or a compliment? _Why_ is he in here?

"P-please… leave," I whispered, keeping my eyes shut. I had never done anything with a boy before; the only person I'd ever even held hands with was my dad. It was too much to handle all at once.

"Why?" His voice came, his lips closer to my ear this time. "Are you afraid?"

"What do you think?"

He chuckled, taking a lock of my hair and twirling it around his finger; he was closer to me, as I could feel the warmth of the air on my bare back. "I thought that you'd like to have me in your house, knowing how much you like me."

"Not with my shirt off!" I yelled, losing it and whipping around; my arm collided with his stomach in the brief moment of panic, and he backed away out of surprise—not because of the hit.

I still held the shirt to myself, breathing very fast. "I—I'm sorry," I said, wavering. "It's just—"

"You know, I really don't get you at all," he sneered, folding his arms. "You obviously like me far more than I thought you did from your first impression, yet you're resisting. Is this the first time you've ever had a boy that close to you?"

"D-does it matter? I just don't want you to come barging in here when it's not even your house and I'm trying to get changed and I'm half-naked—"

"It's not like there's much to see."

My face flushed even more, if that was even possible. "I don't know what you're trying to prove," I stated; my voice came out strong.

"I don't know what you're trying to tell me," he stated, starting to come towards me again. "Do make it blatantly clear for me." He stopped right in front of me and glared down. "Do you like me or not."

I paused, biting my lip. "…I…don't."

"What?"

I shook my head, not wanting to see the look on his face. This was my chance, after all, to finally tell him. "…I don't… just like you… Seto, I—" I choked slightly. God, did _have_ to wimp out right then? WHY?

Neither of us moved for a moment, and I sure as hell didn't know what to think of his silence. Quite suddenly, I felt his arms wrap around me and clasp me to him in a firm grip. I gasped and tensed, but then again I didn't try to push away as much as I knew I should have. The movement wasn't threatening at all; rather, it was a bit comforting.

"You can be really cute when you're confused, Kumiko," he murmured.

My eyes shot open. Was that his way of telling me he likes me back? Why didn't he just come out and say it? His chin was resting on my shoulder, and I nearly let go of my shirt; my hands stayed clamped around it and against his chest, however. I felt his hand trail up the small of my back and to the back of my bra—as soon as his fingers began toying with it, I really tried to shove against him.

All that caused was a bigger predicament for me: I lost my balance and hit the wall behind me, pinning his hand to my back, and me to him. He chuckled softly, taking his other hand to tilt my chin up to him.

"What are you afraid of?" he whispered; I felt his hand moving again and I pushed myself against the wall to make it stop, cringing because it caused his nails to dig into my skin.

I didn't think at all as I stared up at him with widened eyes. "I've… I've never done this before…" I said. It was the truth. Maybe I was hoping that he'd get the idea and leave me the hell alone; I wanted to get out of there. But my heart fluttered just the same as he leaned his face in closer.

"There's a first for everything… let me be in control and you'll enjoy it."

"I—I don't want…" It was no use. There was no way I could get out of there.

His lips were barely an inch from mine, when a loud beep rang out into the quiet room. I yelped quite loudly as I was jerked out of my stupor; he paused and reached into his pocket to pull out his cell phone.

I don't even remember what he said into it, but when he hung up, he smirked down at me, placing his finger delicately on my lips as he slid his other hand out from behind me. "Looks like I need to go, Kumiko… See you at school tomorrow." Without even a glance behind him, he was gone.

I stayed up against the wall, listening to him going down the stairs, walk into the kitchen to get his shoes, and out my front door. When it shut behind him, I could feel the house tremble a bit. It was only then that I moved my arm to grope for the phone on my desk, absently dialing a number without even looking at it.

"Moshi moshiiiii!" came a cheerful voice.

"…Shinobu," I murmured.

Immediately his tone switched. "Kumi-chan? What's wrong?"

"I don't know… can you come over?"

"Wait there. I'll be right over." I heard the click of his phone, and I slowly let my hand drop, my shirt finally collapsing in a heap by my feet. I don't know how long I waited there, but because my mind was a blank slate, I was sure that I'd be stuck there forever.

Suddenly, my legs buckled and I fell to my knees, my hand coming to my face as I started to sob and giggle at the same time. I opened my eyes to watch my tears fall onto my shirt, shaking as my brain tried to figure out why I was crying and smiling. I didn't know why, either. I didn't know anything. What to feel, what to think about, how close I had just come to being violated by the one that I—

The front door burst open and I heard Shinobu come bounding up the stairs; he halted in the doorway as I grinned up at him, my chest heaving as more sobs escaped my lips. "Sh-Shinobu… Seto… he…" I laughed, clenching my teeth.

He rushed over to my side and wrapped his arms around me, holding me so tight I felt like I was going to die of happiness. "What happened, Kumi-chan," he asked, his voice soft but obviously angered.

"Heh… my back…" I got out, closing my eyes and pointing behind me.

"What?"

"Look at my back, Shinobu…" I knew that he'd figure it out and I wouldn't have to explain. It had red marks on it from Seto's hand, and I felt that one of the hooks on my bra was undone.

"That son of a _bitch_," he whispered harshly. His hands went to my shoulders and forced me to look at him. "He better not have gotten further than that—_tell_ me he didn't."

"He didn't." I was feeling calmer, and I sniffed loudly, collapsing onto him and wrapping my arms around his neck. "…thanks for coming, Shinobu."

"What the hell happened?"

I jumped as I heard another voice in my room; I opened my eyes and was shocked to see Katsuya standing there, almost as out of breath as Shinobu was. Apparently Shinobu was surprised as well, but had more sense and yanked a small blanket off my bed to drape it around my shoulders before turning to face him. "You followed me? Why?"

"Eh—" He took a slight step back. "You—just took off for no reason, and I wanted to know what was up, that's all," he said flatly, putting his hands in his pockets.

"You heard me say Kumi-chan; you didn't get anything from that?" Shinobu asked.

"I didn't hear what you said," he replied, looking away. "What happened?"

"What do you care?" I muttered, slightly wiping my tears away.

His gaze immediately switched from the floor to me. "Because I'm curious, that's why," he said defensively.

I raised an eyebrow incredulously. "You're _curious_? What the hell does that mean?"

"Since when do I have to explain myself to you?" he snapped; I flinched, as it reminded me so much of how he used to talk to me.

"Jono, knock it off; someone just tried to really feel her up," Shinobu said sternly. He could have done without saying the second part, I thought gravely, as Katsuya reacted again.

"Who?" he demanded.

"Seto Kaiba." Mr. Revealer strikes again.

"You let that guy into your house?" he nearly yelled, looking at me.

"What does it matter to you what I do?" I answered darkly; he wasn't helping my mood at all.

"It matters because he almost molested you!" He stopped, clamping his teeth shut and nearly grimacing. As my mouth slightly opened in surprise, I saw his cheeks flush before he turned away and left.

There were a few moments of silence before Shinobu scratched his head, frowning. "What the _hell_ was that about?"

"Shinobu…" I reached out and got a small hold on his pants. "…sit with me for a while… please."


	11. An Unlikely Savior

Ah! The next chapter, finally! Wait, it's only been… three weeks, right? Ah, well. I was out with the flu yet again last week, a different one that I picked up from school… and today I woke up with a stuffy nose and a scratchy throat… TnT I just can't catch a break!

**Rakuen No Tobira—**That was more of an exclamation XP I think you'll like the ending to this chapter if you love Jou-kun!

**YamiServant—**Heh, I think we all would have let him get further than that! And as for a higher rating… naah, I don't think there'll be any lemony-ness in this story, but there'll still be moments like that, don't worry!

**panmotto—**Hee… your feeling may be confirmed! Keep on reading!

**SukiLovesAnime—**Sorry it took me longer than a week this time :) hope you like this chapter!

**twilight eyes 8120—**I definitely don't think of Seto as a natural romantic, a natural womanizer more like XD hence his pervertedness in this story. If his phone didn't ring? Hmn… I'll leave that up to your imagination ;).

**AllisonWalker—**I shall read your story sometime soon! I'm actually starting to catch up with what I need to read… and your first statement was quite an accurate prediction , as you'll soon see –grins-

**Aoi Dragon—**Heh, I like portraying Seto like this, though it's kinda difficult to keep him sounding high-class and snobby rather than low-life, horny bastard XD. Just wait until Jono starts to interfere... hee hee...

**SladesDaughter—**Um… no, this did not really happen –sweatdrop- I really wish I could have something like this happen, but alas… I am perfectly happy with fantasizing about the bishies in all the manga I read! After all, all stories are fantasies, right? Well, most of mine are, hence why there's always an OC.

**Kikoken—**Yes… -pushes your eyebrow back down-

**ykkgrl—**Once again, my theory was confirmed by you XD in a lot of stories I read, the main girl is ditzy and rather annoying sometimes… you're not the only one to say that. Poor Kumi-chan… -shakes head- I'm glad you're reading!

**ShibiChicken—**Yes, be confused. Mer. Happy Valentine's Day to you, too! Mine was boring XD. I got a cookie! And shame on you for picking on this story through a review of another one of my stories! This story really isn't that deep… I still can't figure out why you'd take so much time to even weed that out… makes me feel special, though!

**Hikari, Lady of Light—**You are not alone in that you can picture Seto doing something like this! Well, apart from me, obviously… there were several others who said they can imagine our snobby, sexy bishie being a little naughty XD. Just wait for Jono's character to really stand out!

**BishounenzAngel—**Wouldn't we all, my dear… wouldn't we all.

**FalsE FortunE—**I'm glad you found my story! Yay! And yet another flame for Kumi-chan… at least it's not making you dislike the story! And just keep reading to find out why Jono got so upset :). Thank you for reviewing!

**Cobra Strife—**Dude! Hi! I'll email you soon! And there's nothing you can do about it! …. Yeah :). Setokku says konnichiwa.

**Arabella Silverbell—**Awww…… -glomps- Most flattering review ever! Unfortunately… my day job happens to be high school… and my job at the supermarket earns me money to buy manga! …I write at school, though! … most of the time… well, anyway, here's the update!

**Arrna—**Yes… I am evil… oh so evil… I really started getting frustrated at myself for writing fictions that revolved solely around the OC and Seto XD.

**Mariku's-heart64—**Moshi moshi is the Japanese greeting when you pick up the phone. I really wanted to put that in there rather than just saying "Hellooo!" Ya know? It just comes off much cuter in Japanese… And I did read "Reflection"; you need to update that!

**SirisAnkh—**Well then… maybe I'll call you Ankh! Har. Well, anywhoodleedoodles, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Silver-twin—**I'm posting now! –grins- Well, now I know who's side you're on. –points- Jono lover!

**Jade Wyvern—**Three times? You flatter me! And again! –eyes shine- I'm one of your favorite authoresses _and_ reviewers? –sighs- I wanna cry…

Holy cows! 21 reviews… I'm starting to fear for my life; don't mob me if I don't update soon enough! Anyway, I hope everyone likes this chapter! It's definitely one of the longest ones so far! Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews!

**Chapter 11:**

It was a bit after sunset when Shinobu finally asked me if I'd tell him specifically what happened, but I refused; my mind told me that if I did, there'd be no stopping him from running out the door to rough up Seto as badly as he could. I had a spare shirt on, and we were both still sitting on the floor, my desk lamp casting a sort of eerie light around my room as the sunlight diminished.

"Kumi-chan," he said kindly. "I'm already pissed off; I just… well, just tell me again that he didn't see or feel anything beyond your underwear."

I looked him dead in the eyes, and I felt a pang of guilt because I wanted to giggle at how serious he was. "He didn't see nor feel anything beyond my underwear, Shinobu-kun; I promise. Though…" I paused as a slightly frightening prospect hit me. "I'm sure that he would have tried to get further if he had the chance."

"What made him leave? Did you fight him off?"

"No; his cell phone rang, and I guess he had a prior engagement or something he forgot about."

Shinobu threw up his hands in exasperation. "As if you weren't humiliated enough! What kind of a reason is that?" He stopped at my slightly puzzled expression, choosing instead to wave his hands in front of him. "Not-not that it wasn't good timing, of course." He sighed, shaking his head at the floor. "I really wonder if that bastard has a good doctor, 'cause when I find him—"

"Don't say anything!" I cut in, grabbing his clenched hand. "I—I don't want …"

He gave me the strangest look I had ever seen, like I was some mutant that had just landed and asked him where I could find some good Pochy. "You want me, to just sit around and act like nothing happened?" he said, prodding the floor with his finger.

"Yes," I said pleadingly.

"Why?"

"B-because… because…" I couldn't bring myself to say it, but Shinobu picked it up real fast.

"You still like him, don't you?" he asked incredulously.

I didn't meet his eyes, and nodded.

"Jesus, Kumiko, what do you want me to do then? What if he starts doing stuff to you at school, you want me to just sit back and let it happen?"

"No!" I interjected, looking up at him. "I—I mean—"

I could tell that he was getting frustrated. "Are you sure he didn't hit you upside the head, too, 'cause you're making no sense at all. That son of a bitch molested you in your own house and you want me to—"

"Don't call him that!" I yelled, pounding my fist on the ground.

"Well, why not? He's a selfish, arrogant, perverted kid with no respect for privacy! The only reason he didn't just rape you right then and there was because he had a fucking meeting that he just couldn't miss; he left you crying all by yourself to mope and try to figure out what his stupid brain was thinking—"

"Shut up!" I cried, covering my ears. "I don't need you to baby-sit me right now! I'm 16 years old, damnit!" Angry tears were spilling down my cheeks, and I wanted so badly to slap him and knock some sense into his head. "You think that if you go and mess him up real good, I'll feel better? No! It's your stupid sense of pride getting in the way! Don't talk to him, don't beat him up, don't do anything that might hurt him! Got it?"

My broken gasps were the only sounds in the room for a short while, neither of us saying anything nor looking at each other. The light in the room was nearly completely gone, but I knew exactly what his expression was. I knew it would be one of anger and… more anger. I didn't care, though. I didn't want him talking about Seto that way. I didn't need him treating me like a baby. I was considerably startled when he sighed very softly, so softly I almost didn't catch it.

"That's exactly what my little sister said to me."

With that, he stood up and gazed down at me for a moment; I was still staring at the floor, stock-still. "Sh-Shinobu-kun… I didn't mean—"

"I heard what you said, Kumi-chan. I won't do anything to him, but don't think that means I'll let him do whatever he wants with you. I'm not making the same mistake twice." He was gone.

When I heard the door shut, I slammed my fists on the floor, collapsing in a heap. I shook with sobs again, pissed off that he brought up his sister in the middle of that to make his point, unloading such a heavy subject when I was already distressed. Why did he have to compare me to her in the midst of all this? _Why_?

…that happened way too fast. How did we even start fighting? I didn't even want to try to figure it out right then. I wiped a hand over my face and decided to make myself something to eat.

* * *

My classes before lunch were a blur. Seeing as how Seto is in a few before lunch, I was faced with watching his broad shoulders from my seat. I didn't want to think about what would happen after lunch when I'd have to sit by him, so I didn't. When the bell rang, I got out of there as fast as I could, and was thankful that he chose not to follow me.

Outside, I sat in my usual spot. I had made myself some bento the night before since I couldn't sleep—my mind was too clogged. As I picked up my chopsticks and broke them apart, I stared at them, remembering the first time I had really talked to Seto. God, was that embarrassing. I half-wished that things had just stopped there, but I felt a jump in my stomach that told me I really felt otherwise.

He came over to my house, that's one thing. Granted, that's not much to brag about, but the fact that he… I still got shivers, even though I thought of that and nothing else the night before. The idea still seemed so foreign to me. Again I asked myself the question that had robbed me of my sleep:

Does that mean he likes me back?

And once again, the answer came: of course he does. Why else would he do that? Well, he didn't really try to be romantic about it, it was just sort of… boom, spur of the moment sort of thing. Yet I don't think he would do something like that if he thought I was totally repulsive, so… alright, I'm not repulsive… right? There is a possibility that he thinks I'm at least decent-looking, but I don't know.

The only way to know for sure would be to ask him.

Oh God, I could never do that; I screwed up bad enough just trying to cover up the fact that I like him. And I came so close to admitting to him that… man, I'm really glad I didn't say it, though. Why would I even think of saying that? 'Hey, Seto, I love you.' He'd probably laugh at me.

"Kumi-chan?"

I jumped and looked up to see Shinobu standing in front of me. "You ok?"

"Huh?" I looked down at my chopsticks; I must have been sitting and staring at them for at least a few minutes. I stuck them in the top of one of the sushi rolls and cleared my throat. "Yeah, I was just thinking." Even then I felt a bit ticked off at him, and I wasn't in a talking mood, either.

"Mm." He didn't make a motion to sit by me, and I started to eat again. "I want you to tell me if he does anything, alright?"

"Sure." I knew I was being extremely rude, but it was helping my mood.

"I'm serious, Kumi-chan. Come over to my house if he tries to follow you home again. Take care of yourself." He went back to his friends and sat down without a backward glance.

I paused slightly, staring at the ground as I chewed. If he tries to follow me home again? I never thought about that… Well, what did I expect? He can't really do anything to me at school… right? I ate the rest of my meal, trying not to think about it.

When it was time for math, I took a deep breath as I was about to go into the classroom, taking my time in opening the door. This was it. I didn't know what to expect, nor what was going to happen. Should I take the risk of sitting by him? What if I just went to my regular seat? Would he take it upon himself to come and sit by me, or would he make me sit by him like he did the other day? What if he ignores me completely?

"Hey, are you going to go in, or what?"

I jumped and turned around to see four or five people that had gathered behind me, and a couple were trying to hold some sniggers in. "U-uh, yeah, sorry," I murmured, going in quickly.

Seto didn't look up, as usual, but it felt like there was an unavoidable cloud of energy that was pulling me towards him. He still looked as magnificent as ever, and the butterflies in my stomach were quite different than what I felt before the whole incident at my house. I gently set my bag next to the seat by him and sat, immediately taking out my book and a pencil, taking as long as I could without being too conspicuous. The teacher showed up earlier than usual.

"Everyone who needs extra help can come up to the front to ask me questions; everyone else, have a work day." She looked really tired, perhaps that was why she didn't feel like teaching. I cleared my throat quietly—I was one of the people who needed extra help, but I had a sneaking suspicion that Seto wouldn't warm up to that idea very much.

His hand once again yanked my desk towards his, but he did nothing more than that as some students got out of their desks to go to the teacher, others turning to their friends to talk about the homework or to just chat. I stared at my book, trying my hardest to understand it. I hesitantly picked up my pencil and put the tip to a fresh sheet of paper. I couldn't think of what to do after that.

"Use the equation for the volume of a sphere," came Seto's voice. I blushed at realizing he was probably watching me as I stupidly tried to comprehend the mass of words in the textbook. I tightened my lips and wrote it down, thankful that my hand wasn't shaking as much as my heart was pounding.

"A-and then…"

"Take the derivative."

Ah, I knew how to do that. "Right… and then dV/dt can be replaced by 3pi, right?"

"So you understand a little bit of it, then."

"Yeah, once I get into it, it's not that hard… really, it's just setting it up." Wow, we're having a normal conversation… maybe I imagined everything that happened?

We went through some more problems, and I started to get a little bit of a stronger hold on what to do. I felt a little calmer now that we were just talking, but that was ruined just as fast as I had realized that it was there. In the middle of a shadow problem, he dropped his voice.

"You haven't mentioned what happened yesterday," he murmured, and I tensed up as I felt him put his hand on my thigh, leaning a little closer to me.

My face flushed, my pencil still frozen in the middle of the Pythagorean theorem. I had no idea what to say, so I didn't do anything. I could feel his gaze upon me, and he chuckled darkly. "I really do feel horrible for just leaving you like that." His voice sent shivers up my spine; even through the soft words I could sense a hint of malevolence. "I'll have to make it up to you sometime…" His hand moved a bit further up my leg; I gasped and straightened up, my hand clamping down on his to keep it where it was.

"Don't," I whispered, shutting my eyes.

He snickered, instead tightening his grip. "What's wrong, Kumiko? I thought you liked me."

I wanted to yell that he wasn't being fair by asking me that, but I couldn't get my voice to work.

"I suppose I _was_ right about the fact that you've never done anything with a boy before; it's written all over your face." He lifted his other hand to toy with my hair. I still wasn't looking at him, nor at anything else—my eyes were shut tightly, my brain refusing to function. "I know you want something to happen, else you would have kept wearing your hair up. Your stupefied silence is only reassuring how nervous you are about it, now that we're here."

"That's… that's because I don't know what to do," I managed to get out. "But…" I weakly pushed his hand off my leg. "It's… it's…"

"Too fast, right?" he finished for me. That hand now free, he put it on my cheek and made me look at him. It brought me right back to the day before, seeing his face that close to mine. "It may seem too fast, but you're just getting nervous about your first time. Seeing as how you've never gotten any play before, you obviously can't handle simple things like this."

Does that mean he's experienced? I must really seem like a jitter-stricken little girl to him… but I don't want to do anything yet! I always imagined this sort of thing, but now that it's happening—what the hell is wrong with me?

The bell rang and I took a sharp gasp of air, suddenly discovering that I had been holding my breath. I stood up and yanked up my bag, putting my stuff in it as Seto calmly got up as well. I yearned dearly to get out of there, but as I was leaving, Seto was all ready as well, and his arm was around my waist before I realized what was happening. "Here, I'll walk you home."

My hands tightened into fists out of nervousness, and I walked along stiffly as he led me out. This was exactly what Shinobu just warned me about! His house was in the complete opposite direction of mine, and Seto would definitely notice if I tried to go there instead of my house! Great plan, Napoleon! We were almost out of the gates when Seto was roughly pushed away from me, and I felt another strong hand grip me by the arm.

"So sorry, Kaiba; didn't see you walking there."

I was startled when I looked up and saw Katsuya returning the glare that Seto was giving him, perhaps with even more vehemence. "What do you think you're doing, blondie?" he hissed.

"We had plans to go out for a snack after school, is all. I don't think we had you in mind when we were talking about it, though, so we'll just be going now." He led me out, still holding onto my arm, though with a little less urgency. I didn't dare look back at Seto, nor up at the boy who had just saved me from him, but I could not deny the overwhelming sense of relief that had washed over me.

"U-um… Katsuya-kun, I think you can let go now," I murmured out after a few blocks.

"Oh, right." He did release his grip, and I stopped, taking a deep breath before looking up at him.

"Why did you do that?"

"What?"

I sighed slightly out of annoyance. "Why did you just help me out back there?"

He scratched his head. "Well, Shinbin was talking about how worried he was about you at lunch, and… well, he had to stay after school for something, so I…" He shrugged, looking away and huffing a little bit. "I did it because he was freaking out so much about it; if something else happened to you, I would never hear the end of it."

I raised an eyebrow. Shinobu was never one to express his feelings so openly like that, and I highly doubted that he would have said anything about it unless he was prompted. A lot. And what was with the weird nickname? "Why did you keep my hairtie?" I asked suddenly.

The question obviously caught him off-guard. "W-what? I don't have anything of yours."

"I saw you pick it up last week and stick it in your pocket," I said sternly.

He narrowed his eyes, as though trying to remember. "Oh, that. Is that why you've been wearing your hair down since then?"

"Huh?" Why is he trying to change the subject?

"I mean, if it's your only one…"

"Oh, no, I have lots of others," I said, shaking my head. "I chose to wear my hair down. Why?"

"'cause… well, I, uh…" He ran a hand through his hair, still not meeting my eyes. "I lost it," he murmured.

I really didn't know what to make of him as he awkwardly shifted his weight, but it was weird for me to see him looking so insecure. I always saw him towering over me, angry and menacing. He still towered over me, but…

"What?" he asked when I didn't say anything. "I'm sorry, alright?"

I blinked. "Sorry?"

"Ts, whatever. I called Shinbin on his phone when school ended and told him we'd meet up at the pizza place when he was done. He should be there in about twenty minutes or so."

"I thought he didn't know you were with me."

"I told him I saw you when I called," he rushed out, starting to walk. "Jeez, you're still as nosy as you were back when we were kids. I feel like I'm in a freakin' confessional. Are you gonna come or not?"

Quite frankly, I was intrigued. So, I followed him.

* * *

Say, outta curiosity, who is rooting for whom? Poll idea! In your next reviews, lemme know if you like Seto or Jono, and which guy you think will end up with Kumiko! –cricket- ………….. well, only if you want XP. 


	12. Smitten In Annoyance

Oi! Sorry it took me so long to update! Reviews!

**SukiLovesAnime—**Yami and Devlin are certainly worth considering :) nice choices! Here's chapter 12 for you!

**panmotto—**Har; you weren't the only one debating… this wasn't exactly asap… more like as late as possible. Gomen!

**SirisAnkh—**Hee hee… Seto needs to be a perv! It makes the story interesting! Well, for me, anyway. Where would the drama be if he were just a romantic or just slightly flirting with her, ne? ;P

**Slifer02—**A cherry on top? …I don't like cherries XP; maybe if you put some pochy on top, I'll make her slap him –grin-

**XXXkIkOkEnxXx—**Seto's freaking out a lot of people, I'm starting to find out. Your version of Seto is weirder! –raises eyebrow higher- And you changed your penname! Coolies!

**SladesDaughter—**You're on vacation, you weirdo! I sent you a funny picture, too! Well, I guess that means you won't be able to read this for a week! Hah! Enjoy your beach!

**ssp—**Har, another anti-creepy Seto. She's having a hard time fighting back and hating him simply because she was so in love with him before; it's hard to just change such a strong opinion. I'm glad you're enjoying Darwinism, too; thanks for reading!

**Chibi neko doll—**That happened in the 7th grade! Wow, kids are getting more and more mature these days… What am I saying? I'm only 16! Well, good for you, standing up for yourself like that!

**tyrantyoshi—**Hey, no problem :) I actually just bought the first YGO Uncut DVD last week! It's so cool!

**Skitty 2004—**Ah, it's fine. As long as you're still reading! And… it would be funny if she went for Jonouchi? Hm…

**twilight eyes 8120—**Wow… that was really thought out; one of the longest reviews, actually :) and you can't decide. Ironic, eh? Well, hopefully you'll be able to decide soon!

**Aoi Dragon—**A love V… that's a new one XD.

**Mariku's-heart64—**I haven't been keeping up with your stories recently; gomen! I'll read this week!

**YamiServant—**Sure I'll read it! I haven't seen Blade Trinity, though… I'm sure I'll still like it!

**ShibiChicken—**Heh, as usual, the longest review ever :) I'm glad you're getting so worked up over a story you claimed did not particularly catch your interest. Har. And I read your story, but forgot to review… I will, don't worry.

**FalsE FortunE—**So… that's one for Jonouchi, then:) I don't think there's a such thing as a personality transplant… though that would be funny. Poor Kumi-chan would be so confused if Seto showed up and gave her chocolates and a rose… -starts laughing-

**XxMadeInChinaxX—**Huh… Jonouchi and Shinobu… that's a new one. Well! Keep reading :).

**Arabella Silverbell—**Ah! Someone asked about what happened with Shinobu's sister! No one else seemed to have caught that :) you made me happy. It's not vital to the story, sadly, but you'll find out. And my grades aren't suffering… too much…

**Arrna—**Me? Evil? … -hides horns-

**Rakuen No Tobira—**Jo-chi! Kawaii desu! Hee… Well! Keep loving the story XP arigato! (was that too much Japanese? …)

**Cobra Strife—**Yes! Another Shinobu's sister worryer! …was that even a word? Ah, I dunno. I'm gonna email you when I get back from work!

**AllisonWalker—**I'm sure you would! Don't doubt it at all :) swear at him all you want in your head!

**Kristen—**Wow… thanks so much for all the reviews! Don't worry, I'm not mad at you not being on for a while :) I hope you keep reading!

Wow… well! I'm gonna be late for work soon, so I'd better make this quick. Results for the polls!

**Jonouchi- 12 votes; 52**

**Seto- 5 votes; 22**

**Undecided- 3 votes; 13**

**Shinobu(!)- 3 votes (including my mom); 13**

**Chapter 12**

"You don't have to walk behind me, you know."

"You walk too fast."

"So sue me. You walk too slow."

I didn't change my pace, but he soon fell back to walk beside me with his hands in his pockets. I wanted to stare at him for some reason; he looked like what he should have looked like when he was little: awkward, pouty, and bored. I couldn't really look at him, though, 'cause it seemed like whenever I even glanced in his general vicinity, he would immediately notice and purposefully look in a different direction. It got a little annoying after a while.

"So… Shinobu's gonna meet us there soon, right?" I asked, trying to break the ice a little bit.

"Yeah."

Well, that was successful, I thought ruefully. Silence followed us like a stalker all the way there, and even when we sat down, we talked once to tell the waiter what we wanted to drink. I got myself some iced tea, and he got a Pepsi. I had my legs and arms crossed, staring out the window in hopes that Shinobu would show up soon. I didn't feel nervous or anything, but time was dragging on like a slug stuck on fly paper, and I was bored out of my mind. I stared at the clock on the wall and saw that only five minutes had gone by.

"We should probably order something," Katsuya murmured. "Ya know, so Shinbin won't have to wait too long."

I think I felt a vein throbbing in my temple when he said that name again. I swear, it sounds like a pet name or something… almost like a name you'd give to someone you're dating—I dropped the train of thought, picking up my menu. "Well, I know that _Shinobu_ likes pineapple and pepperoni on his—"

"Pineapple and pepperoni?" he repeated incredulously, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "What the hell kind of combination is that?"

"You asking me like I know why his taste buds act funny."

Katsuya shrugged and rubbed his nose a little. "And what do you usually get?"

"I like pineapple as well; he and I usually share a pizza with just that on it," I replied, not looking at the menu anymore because I had been there way too many times before.

"That's disgusting."

"Hey! You're the one who brought me here!" I said defensively. "Do you have the only say in what we get, or what? What do you like on pizza, anyway?"

"Nothing."

"Huh?"

"Just cheese and sauce. It's fine that way," he answered haughtily.

"Ugh, that's so plain; where does the flavor come from?"

"The cheese and the sauce!"

"Those are basics! How bland!"

"Yeah, well pineapple is a sweet fruit! Sweet and fried stuff aren't meant to be together!"

"Uhm, shall I come back?"

Katsuya and I halted and looked at the slightly smiling waiter with our drinks. "N-no, sorry," I muttered, looking down at my drink and taking a sip.

"We can do half and half, if you can't decide," he replied kindly, taking out his note pad. I scowled slightly, realizing how dumb we were. "So I'll put you down for half plain, half pineapple, then?"

"Yeah, we'll do that," Katsuya said. "And do you guys have those little bags of chips here, or anything?"

"There's a rack with them behind the counter, if you'd like to pick one. Your pizza should be ready in about fifteen minutes." He swung the large serving tray under his arm and walked back to the kitchens.

I stood up, heading towards the rows of chips, leaning over the counter slightly to see them all. I asked the guy behind there to get me a small bag of potato chips; I thanked him and was just about to go back, when Katsuya's voice drifted out from our table.

"Grab me one too, will ya?"

I bristled. How the hell can he be so rude? At least say please, or something! I'm not his servant! I paused, taking a deep breath and grudgingly asking for another one. He was starting to annoy me a lot, and I didn't know how much longer I could stand him without Shinobu there with me. I sat down across from him and put his chips on the seat beside me.

"Can I have my chips?" he inquired, holding out his hand.

"What, these?" I picked them up and dangled them just within reach of his fingertips.

"Yes, those; give 'em!" He snatched at the bag, but I dropped it on the table and smashed it with a fist, then daintily pushed it towards him.

"Hey!" He opened the top and frowned at the now fragmented chips, darkly starting to eat them. He jumped when I crushed my bag as well.

"What the hell are you doing that for?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Hm? Oh, that," I replied, staring down into the bag. "I hate whole chips, so I smash them before I start eating."

"Other people's, too? You're really weird."

"Like you're not, getting nothing on your pizza," I retorted coldly.

Choosing not to respond, he rook our a whole chip and crunched noisily into, probably just to annoy me. It worked really well.

"You're so immature; I can't believe I let someone like you bully me around," I muttered darkly, taking a drink from my glass.

"You're still worked up about that?" I was surprised at the question, not because he did a poor job at trying to make it sound harsh, but it almost sounded…

"Am I supposed to forget all the bad things that happen to me?"

"I just think it's a bit immature of you to still feel that way," he said smoothly, and I immediately told myself I had imagined his regretful tone of voice. "Honestly, I thought you were gonna faint when I saw you for the first time in the hallway."

"Well, I hadn't seen you in a really long time; who's to say you weren't twice as bad as you used to be?"

He shook his head, making me realize how long his hair had gotten; I wondered vaguely how it stood up in a point at the front. "People change, Ikari-chan," he said philosophically. I clenched my fist.

"You're so annoying!" I yelled, standing up. I had had enough; I yanked my bag off the seat and started out, not paying attention to the stares I was getting. A couple of old, large women were near the door and whispering behind their hands; as I passed, one raised her voice purposefully. "They're smitten in love, how sweet!"

I huffed and shoved open the door. How stupid! Smitten? Pah! He's just so annoying I could kill him! I wanted to screech in frustration, something I hadn't felt like doing in a long time. My face was flushed, I knew that much. It was out of anger!

"Good thing I was here to pick you up; you look troubled."

I stumbled slightly on the ground as the words reached my ears; my eyes traveled slowly up to lock with the sneering blue ones now staring me down, a small chuckle escaping Seto's lips as I let out a small squeak.


	13. Snap

My gods. I finally got the next chapter out. The end is actually in sight in my mind now. This one isn't too long, but the next one will surely be long, and it'll come fast, believe me. It's extremely late, so I can't respond to reviews like I usually do; can't do it tomorrow because I have work all day. –sigh- I strongly appreciate everyone who's actually stuck with me through this fiction. Thank you to _SukiLovesAnime, AllisonWalker, Aibyoka, ShibiChicken, panmotto, Aibyoka 13, Aoi Dragon, Kristen, Cobra Strife, ssp, chibi neko doll, blackrose113, Kikoken, Arabella Silverbell, Immortalbreath37, Soleil-Princess90, YamiServant, SirisAnkh, KaiKaiCutie, SapphireShadows, Skitty 2004, SladesDaughter, Jade Wyvern, FalsE FortunE, Arrna, Sphincter, starskittle410, Hikari, Lady of Light, eternitycode, Tanakacchi,_ and_ Samurai Angel _for your reviews of the last chapter You all are awesome!

**Chapter 13**

"Kumi-chan!"

"Eh--?"

I looked to my left--there was Shinobu.

"Get away from her you perverted rich snot!" Shinobu snarled, stepping in between us. "Molesting her in her own house is one thing, but trying to do it out in public? Have some decency, man!"

"She didn't seem too happy in there with that runt." Seto smirked slightly, tilting his head to the side. "After having me, how else is she supposed to react to the rest of the scum?"

"You didn't 'have' her, so shut it! Let's go, Kumi-chan." Shinobu grasped my hand and tugged me away, but before I could breathe a sigh of relief, Seto's hand enclosed about my other arm and held me there.

"I don't think you asked her whether she wants to leave with you."

"Like hell she wants to leave with _you_," Shinobu spat. "If you don't let go of her in one second, I'll—"

"Shinobuuu-kun!"

All four of us looked towards where he had just come from to see that the mean girls had followed him to the restaurant—the lead girl daintily slipped her arms around his free one, looking eyes of pure innocence at him. "Shinobu-kun, why are you still spending time with Ikari? She's cheating on you, you know!"

I couldn't believe what a huge scene we were making—people were shooting glances over in our direction, I even saw a plump storeowner watching us through the window of his shop with his arms folded.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded. "If you think we're fighting over her—"

"It's ok, Shinobu-kun," she purred. "You don't need to save face in front of me. I like you for who you are—" She shot me a nasty look. "—not for your looks, like some shallow sluts around here."

"You're more of a slut than she is," Seto said smoothly. "She doesn't go chasing boys around with her underwear showing for everyone to see. No one except me, of course," he sneered.

"Say that again, Kaiba!" Shinobu shouted; I nearly winced at how much his grip tightened.

The lead girl had let go of him, stepping back a little in surprise. "Don't let him get to you! He's just stuck up, you're way above him!"

"Will you shut up and leave me alone?" he rounded on her. "If you think acting like a bitch to Kumi-chan and everyone else will get me to like you, you're dead wrong! I don't ever want you to touch me again, do you hear me?"

"No one else cares about you more than me, Shinobu-kun!" she pressed, latching onto his shirt. "If you'd only give me a chance I'll show you what real affection is!"

"Get off! I—I'll hit you if you don't let go of me right now!"

Seto yanked me towards him—Shinobu's grip had slipped. I yelped as both his arms wound their way around me. "Well, this is all lovely drama, but I think we'd best be going."

"Damn you, NO!" My friend's face was flushed beyond reason—I had never, ever seen him this angry before; it was frightening me.

"You keep speaking on her behalf; no wonder she sits by herself at lunch all the time."

"Because I know what's best for her," he growled. "Men like you are what made my life hell as a kid."

"Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't take into account what might have happened to you. Shame on me for not bothering with your family's problems," Seto bantered, obviously becoming very annoyed. "What was wrong? Did your father get all punchy-feely with you?"

I didn't even see Shinobu's fist; all I remember was Seto suddenly not being behind me and on the ground. Shinobu nearly shoved me out of the way so that he could spit at the ground beside him. "Not with me… no… My sister got all of it. She was quite pretty, you see, and my father got bored of my mother once she got old and ugly." He stooped and yanked Seto up by his shirt to glare at him, barely two inches away. "He was just like you in every way, Kaiba. If you think I'm going to let Kumi-chan fall into your hands, you'd better rethink before your brain ends up splattered on the cement."

"Kaiba, what are you doing here?"

All of us turned around to see that Katsuya had come out of the restaurant finally. "…did I miss something rather important?" he asked, blinking as his eyes traveled over Shinobu holding Seto in such a threatening manner.

"That would be an understatement," Seto muttered, roughly shoving Shinobu's hands off of him and wiping his slightly bloody lip on his sleeve.

"Well—Ikari-chan! What—he was—you followed us here?"

"Obviously! Wake up, you dimwit!" My voice finally started to work. Man, I was ticked off.

"What's your problem?"

"You! How long does it take to notice a giant scuffle right outside the freakin' window? These two idiots were tearing me in two and what the hell were you doing? Nothing!"

"Hey! You stormed out like you didn't want anyone following you! What good would it have done to—"

"Shut up! Shut up!" I covered my ears. Oh God, am I crying? Why? Why am I angry? He didn't do anything! I can't think straight… what's happening to me?

"You all are jerks!" I yelled at all of them, not looking at anything but darkness with my eyes shut tight. "I hate this! I want to be alone again! I liked it better when I didn't know anyone, because crap like this never happened to me! I hate this! I hate all of you!"

I ran away then, the tears streaming down my face… so this is what it had come to. I had no idea in hell how I was going to face them after that, but it had finally spilled over—all the stress, the anger, the new experiences… they had broken me on the inside. I somehow made it home that afternoon, managing to force myself to eat a little bit before collapsing in my room upstairs.

My best friend punched my biggest crush since… ever. My crush molested me in my own bedroom… Katsuya is back… he's not threatening any more… he's an idiot… damn all of them… what did I do to deserve this?

The worst had happened to me. Or so I thought.


	14. Click

All right, now for the climax, or almost climax. This is the second to last chapter, people. I'll be sorry to see this end, but—things gotta end at some point, right? Anyone else read Harry Potter 6 yet? I finished it in about 9 hours, spread over a day and a half… SO good. Am I off topic? Ha, just a little. Whew; gotta work tomorrow morning… urg. Reviews!

**panmotto**—All three? You'll find out next chapter, I promise ;) thanks!

**SukiLovesAnime—**No more Duke? Aw, poor guy's heart will be crushed… Yugi and Yami are nice choices, though. Hope you enjoy this next one!

**xXxkIkOkEnxXx—**I'm almost afraid of how you'll react to the cliff—I mean, ending to this chapter. Hope this was fast enough!

**ssp—**You won't be here for a month? Eek, well, I'm happy I squeezed that last one in; hope you have a good trip wherever you're going! And Darwinism will be next on my list, once I figure out how to connect the ending and the beginning together…

**Samurai Angel—**Yeah, it needed to happen… just as this chapter does, ha ha. And thank you! I can't remember how work went that day, but I appreciate the thought anyway –smile-.

**KaiKaiCutie—**Thank you so much :) love your penname, too.

**chibi neko doll—**Frickin space would be good for Kumiko, ne? Too bad she won't be getting any in this chapter… I feel kinda bad –sheepish grin-

**Soon-to-be-Yami'sgirl—**Ha, you and the rest of the world. Funny how I take the man of my dreams and make everyone hate him… meh. And Soon-to-be… Need to murder the original Yami's girl first, right? Kawaii penname.

**Skitty 2004—**Yes, a bit understated. I suppose that'll make this chapter slightly odder ;). Thanks!

**SladesDaughter—**Ha! I couldn't stop laughing for a long time, Steph; I almost forgot there was more review to read… so! My decision—update Gleaming, will ya? Sheesh. Arigato –bows-

**ShibiChicken—**Wow, you've been out of it a lot recently… seems like if you're not out of it, I am. This story is almost done; I think you may very well be the only guy reading this, ha ha.

**AmnarJoey—**Wow, thank you so very much for all of your reviews! I enjoyed reading each one as you went further and further in… it made my day. Especially the last one, ha ha. Seto getting punched was definitely a must at some point. Super-slut may not get her comeuppance in this story, but you can imagine all you like, I do all the time. And yeah, the fact that Jonouchi said "rather" is kinda bugging me, too. I might go back and change it… anyway! Thank you very much for reading! I hope the last two chapters will be just as enjoyable!

**Aoi Dragon—**Yeah, I _almost_ had Seto go into a monologue about how hard his own life had been, but I decided it wasn't really necessary. And I love Seto's personality… kinda why I can sort of imagine myself in Kumi's shoes, liking him even though he's such a jerk… wait, that's all of us Seto fans, isn't it?

**FalsE FortunE—**Aww, thanks so much; I still get such a happy feeling no matter how many times I hear that… and I like this story better than Darwinism as well, probably because I know where it's going… I don't know, ha ha.

**Cobra Strife—**Well, I am trying to make this as lifelike as possible –grin- You'll see if anyone goes after Kumiko… I'll email you sometime tomorrow, I promise… work is pretty much my life now…

**SirisAnkh—**Heh, well, whatever you were trying to say, I still got the message :) thank you.

**Soleil-Princess90—**Yeah, I hate to admit it, I loved having Shinobu punch Seto… this one is slightly longer, hope you like it!

**Kristen—**I suppose, yeah… you got the name almost right ;) it's just u at the end.

**Arrna—**I promise, things work out. Not before more screwy stuff happens, though, ha ha.

**YamiServant—**Your stories are awesome; I like reading them. Just make sure you don't let them stop 'till they're done, alright? And the chapter was called "snap", and snaps are usually quick. Both of them are quite ok, I assure you.

**Arabella Silverbell—**So have a lot of people. Sumimasen! –bows- I hope this chapter didn't take too long to appear!

**PrussianBlue Cross—**Wow… I can't even describe how that review made me feel… close to tears might be close… thank you so very much :) This next chapter is dedicated to you!

Without further ado, here is chapter 14.

**Chapter 14**

I lay awake on my bed until late at night, thinking. I didn't want to, not in the least bit. I trained myself to always just take life as it comes, but I never expected anything like this to happen. For once I was afraid of what the future might bring. The only form of comfort I could find was the fact that at some point it would have to end.

How did all of this happen? I asked myself again.

I think it's pretty much guaranteed now that Seto likes me… right? Like I haven't said _that_ before… He's not some guy who'll sleep with girls just for the fun of it… then again, how much can I say about him? I've only known him for about a week and a half now… of course I knew him long before that. The more I thought about it, the more I realized—I didn't know him at all. I knew _of_ him. In great detail. Some shallow person I am, I thought, running my hand through my loose hair.

Scowling, I looked over the side of my bed for a hair tie. Strange… I couldn't see any. I got up, and caught sight of myself in my mirror. God, I looked awful. I had cried a few times, so my eyes were a little red, but I had just gotten into bed without changing my uniform—it needed to be ironed before tomorrow.

I took it off and stared at myself for a moment. Seto wasn't kidding; it looks like I lose ten pounds when I don't have my uniform on. With my knobbly knees, non-existent curves… no boobs whatsoever… how could anyone find _me_ attractive? It seems like Seto does, but… I don't want to be sure.

I bit my lip for a moment, then went to my parents' room. I fumbled around in my mom's drawer, searching. Underneath all her underwear, I found it—a deep green nightgown. I had seen her in it once, when I was little. I can't quite remember what it looked like, but I knew that she looked very pretty, I said so, too. She had patted my head with a sweet laugh, closing her robe around it.

Taking it back to my room, I slipped it on. It fell a little above my knees, the straps loose on my bony shoulders. I tightened them a little and straightened it out, surveying myself. It was quite comfortable, but it struck me suddenly that it was lingerie. I didn't look too bad in it, either, I thought, a small bubble of ego surfacing.

Sighing, I crawled back into bed, huffing off a strand of hair that had fallen across my mouth. I don't think I'm attractive in the least bit. I guess I must be a good person or something to have three guys fighting over me at the same time.

I burst out laughing. Three guys, fighting over me. _Me_. One was my crush, one was my best friend, the other was my bully. It made me feel good, in a strange, masochistic way. Something told me it was all a dream.

After pondering a lot more, I decided it would be best to try to talk to Seto. He needed to know that I want boundaries if he's going to come after me… if he can't respect that… well, then, I guess I'll begin to look for someone else. After all, Mom always says bad people aren't good to be around. How complicated that suddenly sounded to me.

Shinobu and I needed to sort things out, too. We'd been friends since… well, ever… he's only trying to protect me. What if he likes me, too? No, I shook my head fervently. We love each other, as friends. Besides, if we were to start dating, the consequences would be dire for me. I'd get nasty publicity, that's for sure. But I'd be happy.

And Katsuya… what I thought about him, I couldn't put my finger on it. Whatever it was, it was strong. I don't think I'm afraid of him anymore; after all, I've taken Shinobu's advice and thought about him and what happened between us whenever I can.

I turned off my bedroom light, pulling my sheets over myself. I didn't want to keep myself up any later than I needed to. I had school the next day, after all. I took off my glasses, feeling around in the pitch black for my bedside table—

_Click._

The slight noise made me flinch so much that I dropped my glasses on the floor. It had come from downstairs. I froze, listening. There was silence for what seemed like an eternity, and for a moment I thought I had imagined it. I then heard the unmistakable creaks that the kitchen floor makes when stepped upon.

My breath quickening, I leaned over my bed and tried to feel around for my glasses. I cursed at the night for being so dark, then at myself for having so much crap on the floor; I don't think Mom had this in mind when she told me to keep my room clean. My hand found my phone first amidst my clothes, and I hit redial as the stairs began to squeak quietly.

"Moshi moshi?" came a voice on the other end.

"Help me, Shinobu—there's a burglar or someone in my house—please help me—" I managed out in a strangled whisper.

"What?" The word was said so loud I hung up the phone, afraid that the person climbing the stairs heard it. I put down the phone and almost started looking for my glasses again.

What the hell are you doing! I yelled at myself. Forget the glasses! I pulled the sheets over my head and moved as close as I could to the wall on the left side of my bed, curling up and trying to still my trembling. The hallway outside was deathly quiet, and since the blanket was over my head, I couldn't have heard the footsteps on the carpet had I wanted to.

My heart was pounding somewhere in my throat when I heard whoever it was open the door to my room. I squeezed my eyes shut as I prayed that they would just take whatever valuables they wanted and leave me the hell alone. I started when a small chuckle reached my ears, and whoever it was sat down on the edge of my bed.

There was silence. They didn't move, and neither did I. I hoped I was having a bad dream… I was definitely found out by then. So why hadn't they strangled me and moved on to take everything worth something?

"Wake up, Kumiko," he purred, gliding the covers off my head and shoulders.

Oh God. Seto.

His hand, cold as it was the first time he had touched my bare skin, caressed my ear, gently tucking my hair behind it. I pretended to be asleep, praying to myself, please let him leave… I'm asleep… I haven't figured out what it is I want to say to you to make you stop…

I nearly jumped when I felt his hot lips press against my cheek—why would anyone do that to a sleeping person? He barely moved away to whisper, "I know you're awake; you're trembling."

I squeezed my eyes shut even more, not daring to open them and allow myself to be entranced by his. "Get out," I murmured.

"No." The answer hit me like a brick wall, wrapping my stomach into a tight knot. "I came all the way here, and I know perfectly well…" His hand slipped beneath the covers towards my chest. "…that all you need is a little… persuasion to get over yourself."

I cringed, but didn't stop his hand; something had made me freeze up, unable to do anything. "Seto, I—I don't think I'm—" I swallowed, trying a different approach. "I'm too young, and—and—we barely know each other…" I didn't know why I was still trying; it was almost as futile as hoping I'd suddenly disappear.

He gently rolled me over, placing a hand on either side of me and leaning in. "You really talk too much. Right now, all I want you to tell me is one thing…" The space between us vanished as he pressed his lips against mine; I took a sharp intake of breath through my nose as my first kiss was stolen from me. It was just like all the cliché love manga I'd read my whole life… I felt a rush in my stomach, so strong that I almost wanted to scream. He slowly broke away, and spoke in a low whisper.

"Do you want me?"

"What…?" This is too surreal. I don't… what am I…? Even in the dark I could see his dark t-shirt and pants… he looked strange… something told me to not look, but I wanted to keep looking, to not think about why I wanted to look… why the shirt clung to his perfect frame in just the perfect way…

I moaned as he kissed my neck, starting to move the blankets down even further; something else had overtaken me and I couldn't stop him—didn't want him to stop—nothing else mattered…

_Click._


	15. Two Faced Truth

Wow, I finally finished this chapter… I've had the first third done for nearly a month now, and I got an urge today to write. I want to say hooray, it's finally finished, but it's so sad! I can't believe this story is over already… and this was a story I started because of my frustration over a guy I have a crush on… I'm still not over it, ha ha. I'm happy, though. Thank you to everyone who's been reading, I love your reviews, every single one.

Unfortunately, I have heard rumors that ff. net is deleting accounts for people responding to reviews in their chapters; I emailed them about it, but they have not written back yet… so, just in case… thank you to **ChaosMagicianGirl, SukiLovesAnime, Skitty2004, panmotto, kristen, SladesDaughter, Soon-to-be-Yami's girl, AmnarJoey, KaiKaiCutie, SirisAnkh, FalsE FortunE, Aibyoka, Cobra Strife, rabidmutantkitty, Ragingfire11, xXAquiliusDraconisXx, Akiko Saulii, xXxkIkOkEnxXx, Aoi Dragon, Yu-Gi-Ohfangirl13, PrussianBlueCross, blackrose113, Soleil-Princess90, Gondorian Princess, theeternitycode, Silver Fantasy, Rakuen no Tobira,** and **ssp**.

And thank you to everyone who reviewed in the past; I hope this last chapter is enjoyable. See you next time! --Edie

**Chapter 14**

_Click._

I jumped as a sharp slap into reality hit me. I suddenly realized what was about to happen, where Seto's hands were, how tingly and eager I felt just having him over me—

"Hey!"

Seto stopped and slowly made eye contact with me. "What."

"Er—" Mm, great unplanned plan. "We shouldn't do this; I don't want to."

He smiled, narrowing his eyes dangerously. "You're funny…" Nearly kissing me again, he spoke with his lips barely apart from mine. "Too inexperienced to know… I can read you like a book. You want this, Kumiko…" His hand came down my side and I took in a whole lot more air than I needed; my chin tilted up so that our lips touched, and his tongue wound its way in.

I writhed and pushed my hands against his chest; I could feel my lust rising like I had never felt before, and it was scaring me. I didn't want to find out what would happen once I let it get the best of me. He pressed his body in closer, pinning my hands in between us, one of his hands closing around the back of my neck and bringing me up to him. I balled my hands into fists and used what little strength I could muster to resist further—

"There's no turning back now," he said darkly, and I found my hands up by my head.

"Seto—stop it! You're a pervert! Get off!" The energy I could feel from him was making me cringe.

What he was about to respond next, I didn't hear, due to the thunderous footsteps that sounded up the stairs at that very moment. No sooner had both our heads turned towards my door, then through it burst—

Well, I couldn't see at all; I didn't have my glasses. But the voice that emerged was one I recognized. "Hey—" he panted. "You—what—"

"…K-Katsuya-kun?"

I vaguely saw his darkened form straighten up. Even though he was panting, he sure as hell found enough breath to shout, "Get off her, you asshole!"

"What do you think you're doing here?" Seto demanded quietly, sitting up on me and letting my hands go.

"I could ask the same to you! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Seto laughed. "My my, you're a bright one."

"O-ok, I know what you're doing—for the love, get off of her already!"

"Tch. Fine." To our surprise, Seto merely got up and stood beside the bed, folding his arms. "You've become more and more annoying to me, both of you. This is more trouble than it's worth."

"It isn't worth a damn! What the hell do you think you're doing here, huh?" Katsuya had taken a step forward, pointing angrily at me, keeping his eyes fixed on Seto.

He chuckled softly to himself, barely whispering. "I'm having fun, my dear Katsuya. Surely you could have seen how easy it'd have been for anyone?"

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

Seto looked at his nails. "Come on. She's obviously never had anyone interested in her—I mean, look at her. She's got a cute little petite frame and all, but that's all she has going for her. Any girl like that is desperate for attention, desperate for anything that might hint that she's attractive. And she had quite the crush on me, didn't you hear? How much easier could it have gotten?"

With each word that slipped heedlessly out of his mouth, I could feel a piece of me breaking inside, all that time… everything… it wasn't real?

"Why would you do that?" Katsuya growled. "Why the hell would you do that?"

"I'm finally leaving school next week… I finally was able to get my inventions noticed by gaming businesses, and they want me working for them. All of them. What's a little bit of fun before I go, right?" He snickered one last time, giving me a sideways glance. "I hope you enjoyed yourself, Ikari-chan. Next time you see me, I'll be on television." As he left, he shoved past Katsuya without looking back. Neither of us spoke until we heard him unlock the front door and go out.

It was only then that I looked up at Katsuya—well, the blob that was Katsuya, anyway. I twisted my hands in my lap as the silence dragged itself out, uncomfortably, slowly. I cleared my throat finally.

"…um…" I murmured out.

"That son of a bitch," was his reply.

I didn't know what to say. I didn't even care that it was Katsuya that was in the room with me. I was just… in shock. I was crying before I could stop myself. I sobbed; I wasn't necessarily sad, but I never knew I could feel so angry at myself before.

"H-hey, it's ok Kumi-chan," he said rather awkwardly.

"Y-you're not Sh-Shinobu, don't call me that," I said harshly.

"Sooo-rry," he snapped back. "I'm not the one who attacked you, remember?"

"I know you're not, but that doesn't mean that you can just act all high and mighty!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you _want_ to be raped by that freak?"

"Shut up!" I yelled, covering my ears and curling up. More tears fell and my chest heaved as I felt my inner self laughing at me.

"I didn't mean that… there was no way you could have stopped him, Kumi-chan… I just—" He took in a deep breath. "As soon as I heard your voice on the phone I—"

"I called Shinobu's phone," I muttered.

"He was asleep… he came over to my house and drifted off after talking about you for an hour or so. He was really concerned about you…"

"Well… thanks for… coming and…" I forced out, trying to control myself a little bit. "I just…I can't believe I was so stupid, thinking someone was actually interested in me… that Seto was interested in me—"

"You weren't stupid; he's like a fox!" He said rather loudly. "It's not your fault that you got hurt; it's his for being such a bastard."

"But no guy's ever been interested in me before—" I wiped my eyes.

"You don't know that," he said, a bit defensively.

I was focused on myself, and totally missed it. "And to think that a really good-looking, smart guy would actually like me…" I laughed darkly. "What an idiot…"

"For the love—you should be smart enough to not let creeps like that get to you! He doesn't know what he just threw away. You're really nice, polite when you actually talk, and—and—" I heard him shift his weight. "…and you're …"

… flattery from Katsuya? "Um…"

"You don't have to say anything," he said quickly. He sounded really strange to me; almost like he did back when we were kids… hesitant, awkward… I leaned over to feel around on the ground beside my bed.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I dropped my glasses… can you see them anywhere?"

In about a second he had pressed them into my hand, and I put them on. He had on a white t-shirt and blue jeans, both of which fitted him really well… he really grew into a nice frame… he wasn't looking at me, though.

"Katsuya-kun?" I prodded after a few moments. "What's wrong?" He was…blushing? Why?

He cleared his throat and kept his eyes fixed on the wall beside him. "…um… your…" His hand kinda tugged at the front of his shirt.

"What?"

His eyes darted to me for a split second, then back again with a great intake of breath. "Your slip," he rushed out, still pulling on the cloth of his shirt.

I paused, confused, before remembering what a slip was, and that I was wearing one. I looked down and realized that one of the straps was hanging off my shoulder. I gasped and grabbed the covers from the end of the bed. "I—I'm sorry," I blubbered, feeling my face turn red.

"I should have said something earlier," he stuttered, looking a little bit at me now out of the corner of his eye. "I—not that I was looking, I just noticed it now—b-but, it wasn't unpleasant or—" He put a hand to his forehead. "I'm sorry."

Silence settled again and I could feel my heart racing. It wasn't because I was embarrassed, though… I was just about to try and say something, when he starting talking again.

"Kumi-chan, I…" He ran a hand through his hair, swallowing hard. "I don't know if you know already—well, I don't know how you would, but—I, uh… I've… I've really liked you since… well, since we met…"

I almost laughed, but my sheer intrigue kept it inside. "But, you—"

"I know, I didn't act like it at all, but, I… I really didn't like how we met at all, and the fact that it screwed up any friendly stuff that might have happened, I mean, you told on me, and I got in major trouble; I really didn't want to like you, but I didn't know what to do. I—I guess I picked on you because—well, because you would avoid me otherwise and I'd at least…" He shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets and looking at me fully. "…you'd at least pay attention to me then…"

I bit my lip, looking at the ground. I wasn't sure if he was playing some sort of weird trick on me or not… either way, the look he was giving me really made my heart jump. He laughed softly.

"And then… to end up at the same school as you, and become friends with your best friend… it was surreal… I was just so happy to see you again… you became so… well, beautiful…"

I suddenly became aware of how my hair was all over my face. I started trying to brush it out of the way. "I'm not… at least not now…" I said, still blushing and avoiding his eyes.

I stopped fidgeting when he knelt down in front of me, feeling around in his pocket. I lifted my eyes to him, and saw the hairtie he had kept in his hand. He genlty brought my hair back, pulling it through and back into a ponytail. He cupped my face when he was done, looking deep into my eyes with his.

"You always are."

"…Jonouchi-kun…"

He smiled softly. "I thought I'd never hear you call me that…" He leaned forward slowly, hesitating an inch away from me. Without even thinking, I brought my arms around him and kissed him. He straightened up and an arm slipped behind me, bringing me close to him—I could feel his heart pounding right against mine as everything else in the world melted away. As more tears began to slip down my face, I knew.

Everything would be all right.


End file.
